An Extension of the Soul
by Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh
Summary: Get into Beacon? Check. Survive initiation? Check. Get a team? Check. Get a Semblance related to my weapon? Che... Wait, what? Jaune Arc expected many things from Beacon. Forging a new weapon and meeting the avatars of both said weapon and his old one wasn't one of those things. Especially not when one of the avatars was a cute quirky redhead... by the name of Ruby Rose.
1. Wrong

**_And here I am again with yet another story. This is a very light-hearted one. I know you won't believe me but it's true. It's mainly just humour with a hint of morality/seriousness and then romance. Have fun reading this!_**

Jaune Arc knew he was _not_ doing an intelligent thing.

While becoming a Hunstman had been his dream for years, he knew that doing so by sneaking into Beacon with fake transcripts from Vale's most wanted criminal mastermind wasn't something a sane person would do. And while he did consider himself a sane person, he also knew that it was the only way for him to be accepted into Beacon. The school was a prestigious one, and that meant that it accepted only two types of applicants.

The rich and the talented.

Jaune definitely wasn't rich. After his father had died of lung cancer ten years before, his mother had sold all the Arcs' property and bought an old-fashioned caravan, with horses and all. Since all his sisters had already moved out of their house, the two of them had wandered across more or less the majority of Remnant before his mother had finally settled back down in Orlén, a small town not too far from Vale. Orlén was comfortable but far too quiet for the young man, and that was one of the reasons why he was on that Bullhead at the moment. His mother had been hired in a Schnee Dust shop in the town, and thankfully the pay was pretty high, despite what many said about the SDC. But for Jaune it wasn't enough to buy his place into Beacon.

That left the talented.

Now, Jaune wasn't one of the no-talent kind of people in the field of fighting. If anything, the opposite. Despite his lack of training and admittedly not appropriate weapon, Jaune had become strong, agile and resistant during the years of travel, but the point was that he knew physical fitness would not be enough to grant him access to Beacon. His skills weren't, at the moment, the ones that would get him into Beacon.

So he had decided to gamble and he'd won the round. For some strange miracle, Roman Torchwick accepted to give him some fake transcripts to enter Beacon. He had of course mentioned a payment, but more in terms of favours than anything. He had said that he would need him to keep an eye on someone in the future. The thief hadn't gone into details and Jaune hadn't pressed the issue, knowing better than to annoy the criminal. The man's associate, Neo, had been a completely different matter. She had worn a knowing smirk all along, as if to dare him ask her for details. He hadn't been that dumb.

There was just one problem, though. The transcripts had gotten him into Beacon, but they hadn't brought him on par with the rest of the students. He had already bought several books on every subject could help him. Another small problem was that as Roman had intelligently pointed out, signing transcripts with his true name wouldn't a very smart idea. As long as nobody found out they were fake, he risked nothing. But in case the secret was discovered, having used an alias would be the best course of action.

And that was how he ended up being Jaune Anvil.

Not that he minded the surname. His father had been a smith and until his death Jaune had always loved watching and helping him in the forge. Tools, very rarely some simple weapon for travellers who wanted a safe journey, repair pieces or even just small works of metallic art. Jaune was charmed by each and every one of them. So he actually did like having such a surname. The problem was something else.

Ms Glynda Goodwitch, the teacher he had just seen on the hologram.

Also known as… Auntie Glyn.

He was absolutely screwed.

Not like she would expel him: he had called her barely two minutes earlier and she had, even if reluctantly, promised him that she wouldn't have him expelled. Of course, in return, he had promised to cook for her for a week. Jaune's cooking was famous in his family. He had picked up many a skill during his travels, even if combat skill wasn't one of those skills.

No, the reason for him being screwed was because he would need to put up with Auntie Glyn's overly affective behaviour. Really, he was sure that she had been on the verge of cooing the student body during the holographic message. Not that he didn't love his aunt, but she could be… kind of a handful. Plus her teasing was even crueller than his sister's.

The two weren't really aunt and nephew. She was actually his mother's cousin, but they were so close that his mother had introduced her as Auntie Glynda, and the name had stuck.

He mentally sighed at the idea of having to live four years with his auntie always ready to coo at him. When he was younger, he always liked his aunt's visits. Now, he half-loved, half-dreaded them. In the last years she had begun to lessen her affective displays, but that only turned into not-so-playful teasing.

The Bullhead rocked again and he sighed. He still remembered the time when he still had his accursed motion sickness to prevent him from enjoying any kind of air travel, but after ten years of almost continuous journey his sickness had faded and disappeared entirely. One could only spend so many days vomiting before finally getting over whatever was making him vomit at the moment. One by one even his allergies had disappeared, and now he was as healthy as a rock. That was what his father used to say: since a rock never _ever_ get sick, being as healthy as a rock had to be a good thing.

Now, as opposite to ten years before, he could let his gaze and mind wander without risking to puke on someone's shoes.

"Ugh, get away from me, Vomit Boy!"

He turned, surprised, just in time to see a tall blonde with more than noticeable assets complain about her now ruined boots. A tall boy with black hair was quickly making his way to the trashcan. _'Well,'_ he thought. _'Apparently someone else never travelled.'_

He returned to look out of the window before he sighed again. What was he doing there? He had no training and a weapon that, despite having been repaired by both Jaune and his father, would probably break against a Grimm bone armour. And he had little to no doubts that a serious swipe from a Grimm would break through his junk armour.

When the Bullhead finally landed, he let out a deep breath to calm himself down before stepping onto Beacon's grounds.

The Academy was as wonderful as Auntie Glynda had described it. To him, it looked more like a castle than a school, but who was he to judge? Yeah, the large central tower acting as keep, then the several large buildings making up the mess hall, the forge, the dorms and all what was needed to both a castle and, apparently, Beacon Academy. Several small towers were connected by a guardwalk, a path built over archways to guard the entire grounds, something that a school surely did _not_ need. Even the general position of the school made him suspect of it being built over an ancient castle, since it was nestled on the edge of the cliffs, surrounded by either cliffs and seas, or by Grimm-infested forests. It all screamed `CASTLE!`. With its strategic position, only an idiot would attempt to attack Beacon Academy. An idiot… or a genius.

He shook his head. Of course no one would attack Beacon. It would be tantamount suicide.

For the attacker, of course.

He looked around, but it would've been impossible to get lost. A giant path laid ahead, leading straight into a huge building whose just as huge door was open. The message couldn't be clearer. Only a complete dolt would've gotten lost.

It simply screamed `go this way`.

As he walked, he quickly surpassed the blonde from the airship and narrowly dodged a white haired girl's luggage before entering the quickly crowding-up building. All the applicants had been packed into the large hall.

He almost sighed again as he realized just how different he was from them. In terms of training, at least.

Physically, he knew he looked more of a fighter than many others in the room. He stood just over six feet tall, with a lean and toned but not overly muscled frame and the solid stance of who has lived most of his life on his feet. His aureate hair reached his shoulders, pushed back every so often by the boy to keep it away from his eyes. His skin, normally really pale due to both his family's heritage and his own hometown's location, was noticeably tanned, even if it was still an incredibly pale tan. His ocean-blue eyes were bright and sharp, even as he continued to worry about his choices, and they scanned the student body to be able to recognize and avoid the danger.

Auntie Glynda, that is.

His clothes were pretty normal, as opposite to the flashy and dramatic outfits the other students had. Most of the time, one could easily tell a Huntsman from a civilian due to their choice of clothing. He was wearing a plain black hoodie and jeans. He had initially wanted to try and win the Pumpkin Pete hoodie he had seen during an advertising spot, but his and his mother's continuous travelling made it difficult to gather enough cereal points. Especially because his mother had forbidden him to eat that stuff. He had understood why only after he had searched on Remnet the details of the many shady ingredients in the cereal. Aside from that, he wore a pair of orange sleeves to protect the skin from the metal of his armguards, leather gloves and plain sneakers. His armour was simple, just armguards, kneeguards and a cheap chestplate that barely covered his thorax, without even reaching down to his middle section. At his side hung Crocea Mors, his family's ancient heirloom. His mother had given it to him after his father died, but the boy knew the sword didn't belong to him, just like it hadn't belonged to his father. Crocea Mors was the sword of the first Arc. Not the sword of all Arcs.

But since he had nothing else, he had decided to keep the sword, hoping that maybe he wouldn't regret the choice.

Looking around, he took in the other applicants. Most of them were like black silhouettes to him, unimportant and basically unnoticed. But a few caught his attention. There was the white-haired girl whose luggage he had almost stumbled into -who ever brought that much stuff at school?-, and a tall redhead with green eyes in a corner, surrounded by what appeared to be a crowd of friends, given how they all seemed to be talking to her, and she seemed to be smiling back. Then there was the blonde from the airship, and he wasn't speaking about himself, one with what had to be shock absorbers implanted where breasts should normally be. In a corner he could see a strange black-haired girl dressed monochrome, the only applicant so far he'd seen wearing a bow. Or any kind of headdress except the redhead's and whitehead's tiaras, for all that mattered. Then there were two very interesting applicants, a short girl with seemingly a motion disorder as she couldn't seem to manage standing still for more than ten consecutive seconds, and beside her a boy with black hair and apparently an unlimited supply of patience, given how he withstood the human tornado beside him without as much as frowning. Maybe he had a facial paralysis?

On the stage, the Headmaster had just finished giving his frankly really boring speech and was stepping aside to allow a beautiful blonde woman to take his place. She had assets that would frankly make many people, boys and girls alike, drool at the mere sight of her. Her curvaceous figure was also showed off by her tight outfit, a blouse slightly open on the chest to reveal a hint of her breasts, black stockings and a pencil skirt so short it was barely longer than most people's underwear.

She was the feared Professor Glynda Goodwitch.

She was Auntie Glyn.

Jaune began to sweat and hurried to hide behind a tall boy with a massive built wearing some kind of armour. He had burnt orange hair and his mouth seemed to be forever twisted into a sneer. He also didn't seem to notice when Jaune cautiously hid behind him to escape from his terrible aunt. She would naturally make a scene and Jaune would become the laughing stock of the whole Academy since day one. She would coo at him, tell him how much he's grown since last time, recall not-so-fond memories of when he was younger, and all that aunt-y stuff she always did.

As she stepped off the stage and began leading a tour across the entire school to acclimate them to where they would live for the next four years. The ones who passed initiation, at least. Jaune was amazed by the sheer size of the academy. Auntie Glyn had told him about it, but seeing it first-hand was a completely different wonder. Although the structure didn't seem very solid for its purpose: holding maybe hundreds of devastating hormonal teenagers. Jaune had seven sister, none of them being a Huntress, and he fully well knew how much destruction they could cause. Beacon Academy was the Arc household given monstrous superpowers, and turn up to the power of three in terms of numbers. It was a miracle the Academy was still standing.

His Aunt's Semblance probably helped. A lot.

He shook his head. It wasn't the time to think about his auntie. It was the time to be go to sleep. Aunt Glynda had shown the students where they would be bunking for the night, and Jaune Soleil Arc was ready for his first night with his peers. He was sure they would get along fine.

Too bad they thought otherwise.

Stares, and the occasional laughter, followed him all the way to his bedroll. He laid down and sighed, really not understanding why they were all so obsessed with him: he was just wearing his favourite onesie!

That was _not_ a crime!

/-/

That had to be a crime.

Jaune Arc had never thoroughly read Vale's Book of Laws but he was fairly sure that `hurling innocent students into a forest teeming with Grimm, from a three-hundreds yards high cliff, with no previous warning` had to be listed under the crimes for which one should go to jail.

Then why did Ozpin do exactly that?

He knew that Beacon had… well, arguable methods of teaching, and he had _seen_ the other students' excitement and amusement at his own reaction. The guy beside him, a tall boy with black hair and green eyes, who introduced himself as Saber Crimson, had even given him a thumbs-up before being hurled into sure danger. Jaune didn't know much about Huntsmen but he was sure that no sane person should be _happy_ to be pitched against the Grimm as initiation for a school. But the point was that despite Beacon's independence from Vale, even the school _had_ to have some kinds of rules about safety!

He had almost gone to Aunt Goodwitch to ask about the rules, but he had stopped himself in time.

It had already been bad enough when he had met her in the locker rooms, where she had trapped him and dragged him off to the cliffs. He had barely been able to apologize to the two girls who had in front of his locker for having bumped into them while taking out his weapon. Then Auntie Glynda had dragged him all the way to the cliffs, where she had squealed over how much he'd grown and of course lectured him for coming to Beacon without Aura.

It hadn't been _his_ fault! Well, the part about coming to Beacon had, but not the part about Aura! How could he have known about it if literally no one had ever unlocked it for him? He had thought the Beacon staff would've unlocked it upon entrance!

That brought him back to where he was.

Flying through the air with a pout on his face, his arms crossed on his chest.

Back on the Beacon Cliffs, Ozpin kept sipping his mug, uncaring of the boy who kept cursing him, but also fairly interested in what his faithful assistant was doing. "Glynda, we do have cameras in the forest, you know that?"

The Deputy Headmistress merely shrugged, a large pair of powerful binoculars pressed over her eyes, her glasses stored in one of her pockets. The hand that was keeping the binoculars up was outstretched and glowing purple. "I know perfectly well, sir. I just enjoy seeing their faces when we throw them with more accuracy."

"You wouldn't happen to be helping one of the students to land, would you?" asked the man, completely trusting his loyal but most of all _stern_ _and serious_ deputy to give him a truthful answer.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, sir," she replied candidly. "Now, if you would, I have to focus for a second now."

"Of course," nodded the Headmaster, leaving her to think Oum only knew what. Even with at his more than venerable age, he still couldn't understand how the minds of women worked. Maybe that was one of the reasons he couldn't beat Salem? Nah, Salem couldn't count as a woman.

Back to Jaune, he felt himself become lighter.

No, it wasn't just that, he was literally slowing down and he saw that the murderous trees had started to close in more slowly. A purple glow surrounded him and for a second he thought to have automatically unlocked his Aura. His hopes died a horrible death when he recalled his aunt's Semblance. Since she hadn't unlocked his Aura, something to do with not having enough time nor permission, she was evidently helping him land.

 _'Thank Oum for overaffective aunts,'_ he sighed in his head as Goodwitch's Semblance delicately dropped him onto the forest's ground.

He shot her a quick message on her Scroll to thank her for the help, a message she immediately replied to with a `anytime dear.` He shivered as he thought of all the cooking he would need to do to repay her for her kindness.

The landing having been taken care of, now he needed to find a partner. In a forest filled with Grimm and applicants, it wouldn't be too hard. People like Huntsmen in training tended to go toward the sounds of battle when searching for a partner, so all he had to do was either stumble into a partner, or stumble into a Grimm and survive long enough for someone to arrive and save his ass. He just hoped he would be paired up with someone reliable, possibly strong, and most of all someone he could get along fine with.

"Ehm-Ehm." Someone clearing their throats nearby made him look up from the ground, meeting other two blue eyes. But these ones were paler than his, bordering the colour of ice.

He blinked at them. "And you would be…?"

The owner of said eyes rolled them. She was a very short girl with white hair and an ongoing white theme. Also, she was wearing a skirt, something Jaune was pretty sure _wasn't_ ideal for fighting. A short rapier hung at her hip, the handle having some weird kind of barrel with differently coloured chambers in it. He couldn't recall her name, but she was the one who was standing before his locker when Goodwitch had dragged him to the cliffs, and also the one who had brought tons of luggage with her. "You don't know my name? Where have you lived up until now, under a rock?"

He winced at both the volume and the words. "I-I'm sorry, I-I just thought i-it would've been p-polite to ask for your name," he apologized meekly.

She glared at him for a few more seconds before sighing. "Weiss Schnee," she told him, bored. "Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company."

"Jaune Arc," he replied. "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it." He immediately regretted the one-liner when Weiss rolled her eyes again, dislike clear on her face.

"Please," she snorted, already irritated. "Let's get going. I have no intention of arriving late to the relics." Without as much as another glance, she kept walking into the forest.

"Ehm…" Jaune scratched his chin. He couldn't be sure, but if he remembered correctly his aunt had told him that… "Weiss, the temple is _that_ way, you know?"

"Of course I know," she scoffed, turning around and marching in the right direction.

Jaune winced. _'These are gonna be four long years,'_ he thought with a mental sigh. _'At least she looks like she knows what she's doin-'_ "Ouch!"

Weiss turned around, coldly regarding him with a raised eyebrow as he cradled his forearm, that was now sporting a scratch on its exposed skin. He sulked as he glared at the blackberry bush he had accidentally grazed. "Stupid thorns," he grumbled as he began to walk again, only to stop just shy of bumping into Weiss again.

Her eyebrow was still raised. "Why haven't you healed it?" she asked, irritated already.

He blinked at her. "What?"

"Why didn't you use your Aura?" she changed her question, eyes narrowing at him. "You can't have exhausted your Aura already."

"M-My Aura?" he repeated before paling. _'Oh shit I'm screwed.'_

Weiss's eyes narrowed even further. "Arc, are you trying to tell me that you don't have Aura?" she asked dangerously. When he failed to reply, anger flashed on her face. "Well?!"

"I-I may have i-it still l-locked," he replied weakly, seeing Weiss's face flushing with anger before she gave an exasperated shout.

"Perfect!" she growled. "Not only you prevented me from having Pyrrha as a partner, now I'm also burdened with an idiot without Aura!"

He tried to say something, anything really, but she closed in on him with the speed of a hunting predator. Without warning she forced him to close his eyes, almost poking them out, before placing a hand on his chest and another on his shoulder. " _ForitisinstrengththatweachieveindependenceThroughthiswebecomeindividualsfreefromjudgementormastersIncontrolofourselvesandunboundbydeathIreleaseyoursoulandbymyhandfreeyouofyourchains._ "

The chant ended almost as soon as it began, and she jumped back from him, looking at him expectantly. But except for a quick flare of her Aura, nothing happened. Sighing, she placed her hands back and repeated the chant, this time more slowly.

" _For it is in strength that we achieve independence. Through this, we become individuals free from judgement or masters. In control of ourselves and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my hand, free you of your chains._ "

This time, Weiss's Aura rose in all its magnificence, a bluish shade of white. Jaune felt… power. It was the only way he could describe it. The tingling feeling ran through his body and he felt _something_ respond to both Weiss's Aura and words.

Something ancient was being awakened. A power gifted to mankind from the very beginnings of the world. His soul shined and rose, the feeling swelling in his chest before it became too much. White light enveloped his frame and Weiss gritted her teeth, trying to withstand the strain.

Finally, it was over, but she didn't move. Instead, she just slumped, panting slightly. "J-Just… How much A-Aura… do you h-have?" she asked, her breath hitching.

"A-And you're asking me?" replied the boy. "The one whose Aura _you_ had to unlock?"

The two remained still for a few more seconds before Weiss took a deep breath and straightened. "I don't know how you got into Beacon without Aura, but now I have to ask this," she said, her stern expression back in place. "Do you _know_ how to fight?"

Jaune scratched the back of his head. "Ehm… nope?"

Weiss crumpled defeatedly.

/-/

"Cardin Winchester. Russel Thrush. Dove Bronzewing. Saber Crimson. The four of you have retrieved the Black Bishop pieces." The four boys gave noncommittal sounds of agreement. "From this day forwards, you will work together as Team CRDS, led by Cardin Winchester."

The larger boy puffed his chest out as the four of them stepped down the stage. Ozpin's eyes followed them for a while before returning to the four new students.

"Pyrrha Nikos. Blake Belladonna. Yang Xiao Long. Sky Lark. The four of you have retrieved the White Knight pieces." The Headmaster's gaze stopped on the redhead. "From this day forwards, you will work together as Team NBLS, led by Pyrrha Nikos."

Some of the light left the redhead's eyes as she nodded meekly, her new team following her offstage. Ozpin inwardly sighed, knowing what burden he had just laid on the girl's shoulders, but he forced himself to continue with the last team.

"Jaune Arc."

When his name was called, Jaune stumbled and almost fell. He would've, hadn't Weiss caught him with a disappointed sigh. His eyes darted over to Goodwitch, and then widened in fear when she gave him a smirk and a knowing nod. _'That traitor!'_ he thought. _'She changed my transcripts!'_

"Weiss Schnee. Nora Valkyrie. Lie Ren. The four of you have retrieved the White Rook pieces." Ozpin turned for a second to follow Jaune's gaze until he met Goodwitch's eyes. Finding her to be as serious and unflappable as ever, he return to the team. "From this day forwards, you will work together as Team JWVL, led by Jaune Arc."

Jaune's eyes widened and he yelped as Weiss's grip on him tightened ten times over. "L-Led by?" he repeated, hoping to have heard Ozpin wrong.

"Congratulations, young man," was all he got for his trouble.

The rest of the ceremony had passed by quickly and the teams had managed to get to their dorms. Weiss hadn't softened her grip all along, and he was pretty sure he was going to bruise soon.

He had hoped a good night's sleep would've helped him through this nightmare, but as soon as he opened his eyes, he realized something was wrong.

 _"You're finally awake, Master,"_ a mysterious deep male voice said, and he jumped out of his bed, crashing into the floor. There was no male but him and Ren in the room, and he knew how Ren sounded like. _"I, Crocea Mors, am ready to serve. Should we start our glorious path to victory?"_

 ** _Oooh yeah._**

 ** _I finally posted this chapter. I've been working on it for three weeks now but I never got the inspirations right. But now... now it's out!_**

 ** _I know many of you will be disappointed I haven't shown the Goodwitch-cooing-Jaune scene but I'm planning on having more GW-overaffective behaviour later._**

 ** _EDIT: just in case you've been asking yourselves where Ruby is, she'll appear around chapter 5, so don't expect her to come up sooner. I won't spoil you how she'll appear but trust in me a little. She won't be Crocea Mors's Avatar._**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	2. Semblance

**_Hey everyone! Took me long enough for this, eh? Actually, this was ready yesterday night, but... well, shitty WiFi connection can do that to you. I hope I make up for the long wait! And no, Ruby won't appear yet._**

Predictably enough, Jaune had fallen out of his bed.

What hadn't be predictable was that something was now helping him up. Or rather someone.

Jaune was pretty sure of a lot of things in life. One of these things was that he was pretty sure no one on his team had invited anyone over on their first night. Maybe Nora, but yet again why was he being called master by this guest? Another thing he was sure of was that whoever had spoken was young, very young, he could tell by the voice.

Using his fighting instincts, he freed himself from the owner of the voice's arms, and turned to face him. Or at least that's what he told himself. In reality, all he did was flail uselessly before being released and crashing to the ground once again.

He had woken up early. It was the only explanation for why the day was so awful already. Waking up early must've created a disturbance in the universe's fabric and the Gods had sent whoever was talking to kill him or to put him back to sleep, and solve the problem. There was no way an actual freaking knight was standing right before him, wearing a full plate of all types of armour.

As Jaune picked himself up from the floor, he realized that the knight before him was far shorter than he'd initially thought. Five feet six at most, the man donned a light grey full armour, and what little wasn't covered by the metallic plates was protected by the underlying chainmail. On his head there was a large steel helm with only a horizontal for the eyes and several vertical slits for breathing, much like the robots in the cartoons. He also wore a long worn brown cloak that reached his ankles. After releasing Jaune, the figure had crossed his arms on his chest, and he was tapping the floor with his right foot in impatience, the metalling boot booming every time. It was bound to wake someone up…

"What is going on here?!" growled Weiss, sitting up straight on her bed. She stopped for a second to look at the armoured man standing in their dorm, and then looked at the time. She sighed. "Arc, whatever you did, it's too early to deal with your idiocies."

"I advise against speaking in such a manner about my Master, Lady Schnee," boomed the man, turning to face her. The voice was no less thunderous than the first time, but this time Jaune felt like something was different. Before, he had felt like it came from everywhere. Now, it was coming specifically from the man's mouth. "As I can and will defend his honour with the force of arms, if the situation were to call for it."

Weiss blinked before frowning, a snappy retort ready on her tongue even so early in the morning, but Nora happened before anyone could do anything else. Awoken by the voice, the bubbly hammer maiden stretched like a cat before her eyes zeroed in on the knight, who to his credit just took a step back.

"Oh my Oum, who's that?!" exclaimed the girl, launching herself from the bed and starting to zip around the man, who appeared to be confused. "Are you our Fearless Leader's guardian angel, come to help him during his time in Beacon?! Or maybe are you his alter-ego?! No, wait, are you his evil twin, come to get revenge for having been in his shadow all your life?! Are you?! Are you?! Are you!?"

"Nora, stop, I think you're just confusing him." Ren's calm voice spoke up from his bed, the boy still laying motionlessly on the mattress, probably not ready to face the day so early. He merely turned his head toward them. "Please, tell me this is all a joke, and we don't have a problem this early in the morning?"

"I don't know!" exclaimed Jaune, freaking out again, gripping his hair as he stared at the knight. "Are you a joke?! Did Cometé prank me _again?!_ Or was it Ciel?!"

"Please, restore your calm, Master," said the knight, holding up a hand. "As I am no joke nor prank. My name is Sir Jekyel D'Or Arc, Grand Commander of the Lost Army during the War of Dust."

Nora's eyes sparkled. "He's a real knight! Ooooh, did he fight in the Great War?!"

Weiss, instead, huffed. "He's an imposter," she stated plainly, all eyes focusing on her.

"I fear your words rang untrue, Lady Schnee, as I speak no lie and I act not mendaciously," replied the knight, Jekyel Arc. "I promise you I am truthful, and an Arc never goes back on his word."

"What tells us you're even an Arc?" scoffed the heiress.

"He is," responded Jaune. "His name starts with a J, and his second name is in the Arc's original language."

"Just because his name starts with a J?"

The boy shrugged, helplessly. "It's a good way," he confirmed before groaning and turning to the man. "Not sure what the War of Dust is nor what the Lost Army is, but if you're a relative, please next time call instead of barging into my dorm."

"Arc," sighed Weiss, pinching the bridge of her nose. "The War of Dust is the oldest war we know of. When Dust was first discovered."

Silence fell over the room as the man rubbed the back of his helmet in a very Jaune-like way. "Well," he said. "This is awkward."

"Wait, what?" asked Jaune. "The oldest…?"

"So old we only have legends about it," confirmed Weiss. "And this is why he must be an imposter. Now leave, whoever you are, or I will be forced to call the professors."

The knight raised his hands defensively. "W-Wait!" he exclaimed, removing his helmet. Under it appeared the face of a young man, around their own age, max two years older. He had dirty short black hair and an unkempt beard. His brown eyes seemed nervous as he gently laid the helmet on Jaune's bed. All in all, he did not look like Jaune at all. "I… It's his Semblance," he continued, pointing at the blond knight, who was still freaking out internally.

That made them all stop.

"I mean, I can't be sure," added the brunette. "But it must be."

And just like that, Weiss snorted. "That dolt can't have unlocked his Semblance already."

"Listen, it's the only thing that makes sense!" The knight passed a hand through his hair. "Because I distinctly remember dying, and being far older than I am now."

"Oooh, you remember dying?" asked Nora. "How was it? Can you tell us what's after it?! How is the Afterlife?!"

"Nora, stop," sighed Ren.

"Okey dokey!"

"So, let's sum this up," stated Weiss. "You died during the War of Dust, and somehow you're back to your younger days, in this room, because Arc here has awakened his Semblance?"

"I think so."

"That's one of the stupidest things I've ever seen," she bluntly claimed. "I don't believe it."

"Then test me," he offered. "Ask me something I could know only if I really took part in the war."

"Who won?"

"I said I died during the war, I don't know how it ended," he sighed. "You should ask something I could know."

"Fine," huffed the girl. "Who was at the lead of the third army, how was his army called, and who his troops were?"

The man's face soured up, and for a second Jaune feared he'd start swinging… even if he did not have any kind of weapon on himself. "His name was Hydwart Vitrén, called the Merciless. He commanded the army of the North, called the Snow Blizzard for their colours. His troops were trained soldiers, and he was fighting to keep all the Dust for himself."

Weiss frowned but nodded. "One question is not going to prove your truthfulness," she reminded him before continuing. "How many sides there were during the war?"

"That's a trap question," noted Jekyel. "Sides or armies?"

Weiss looked marginally impressed at that. "Both."

"There were two sides, obviously. Us, who fought for the free trade of Dust, and the Northern League, who wanted to keep Dust for themselves, uncaring of how many lives it could save from the Grimm." His eyes darkened again at the mention of the other side. "But there were more than ten armies. Three of them were in the League. Eight other armies were with us. The League had the advantage of the Dust but we had the advantage of numbers."

"Final question, and then I'm bringing you to the Headmaster for explanations," warned Weiss, eyes narrowing at the second right answer. "Who fought at the Battle of Mistral?"

Jekyel blinked. "What is Mistral?"

/-/

"So… Jaune has actually unlocked his Semblance when he was sleeping?"

The eight of them were sitting at a table in the cafeteria for lunch. The first morning of classes had gone more or less like they had expected… for Team NBLS, that is. All of them paid attention in class, some more than the others, and they hadn't had any problem with lessons. Team JWVL, on the other hand…

While Nora had been… well, Nora… the others had been a bit too distracted to actually concentrate in class. Weiss had volunteered to fight in Grimm Studies, sure, and Jaune was pretty sure the final skewering of the Boarbatusk had been some sort of message for him, given the glare that had accompanied it. But the three non-Nora members of the team had had their minds occupied with something else. With the knight Jekyel Arc having been brought by Ozpin, they had been left to wonder what was going to happen next. And if that hadn't been enough, Jaune had passed the whole morning on his Scroll, looking up everything he needed to know, from Aura to Semblances, from weapons to academic subjects. It was a lot.

They had told their friends everything at lunch, even if Ren had to restrain Nora from overly exaggerating everything like he always had to. And since Weiss was still doubtful, it had fallen upon Jaune to narrate their glorious tale to everyone else… minus his unceremonious fall from the bed, of course. Their sibling team NBLS listened to the whole story with impassive faces, that was kind of to be expected. Discovering a Semblance in an Academy literally full of people with superpowers wasn't something out of the ordinary. Jaune was pretty sure that even the janitors there had their Aura unlocked, a Semblance, and a Huntsman license.

"So… let me sum this up," began Sky Lark, the only male of Team NBLS. He was a blue-eyed boy of medium height, a few inches shorter than Jaune, who had shoulder-length blueish grey hair. Apart from Jaune and, from a certain point of view, Pyrrha, he was the only one in their teams to wear armour. "You're all freaking out because Jaune here has apparently discovered his Semblance in the form of a young man in his late teens that keeps saying he's over ten thousands years old… right?"

"That about sums it up, yeah," nodded the blond knight. "Although I wonder how long it'll take for Ozpin to find out who he is or what did I do."

"Then, forgive me for my bluntness, I don't see the reason to be so worried." He raised a hand to stop any possible reply, especially Weiss's. "I mean, Ozpin's taking care of it now. Why don't you focus on your classes and your first day at Beacon?"

The three non-Nora members of Team JWVL exchanged glances before Ren turned to the bluenette. "I suppose you _are_ right, but this doesn't mean we shouldn't worry about it as well," he said. "Even if Ozpin is in charge of this now, and _if_ this is really Jaune's Semblance, we will be involved in this."

"Relax, man," snorted Sky. "I'm sure Ozpin has this under control."

/-/

"And… And… ahah… and then Esmer said `We'll attack at midnight`, and… and one of the foot soldiers replied `Sir, it's one in the morning!` And we all burst out laughing!"

The two men bent over, holding their stomachs as they howled in laughter. Ozpin choked on his mirth a little before he straightened, wiping a tear from his right eye. "A-And do you remember that time at Riverbrigde Gap?" he asked between gulps of air.

Jekyel thumped his chest to try and stop the laughter. "T-The one… ahahah… the one where the enemies… built their _entire_ camp on the bridge except for the commander tent?!" he replied between chuckles. "And then we broke the dam further up the river and their whole army was washed away?!"

"You should've seen the face of the commander as he watched his whole legion being swept away in a second!" Ozpin wheezed out, and the two old comrades cackled again.

/-/

"Yeah…" drawled Ren, not entirely convinced. The bell chose that moment to rang out and the eight of them sighed as they stood up. "You might be right, but I can't help but feel like we've just gotten in some serious trouble."

"Oh, come on, it's just a Semblance!" exclaimed Yang, the only other blonde of their group. "Besides, I've seen weirder ones. Blake! What's the next class?"

The black-haired girl sighed as she checked the timetables. "In the afternoon we have two hours of Grimm Fighting Class, and a fifteen minutes break, and then two hours of Combat Class."

"Sweet! Lots of combat today!" cheered the blonde before Nora joined her in her celebration. "We're so gonna kick your butts!"

"We shall see on that, Xiao Long," huffed Weiss, eyes blazing.

"We do have the advantage," noted Blake. "We have Pyrrha, who is a famous champion and arena fighter. Yang says to be very strong herself, and Sky says to be able to hold his own. I may not be the strongest person myself but my Semblance makes it easy to avoid any kind of attack."

"While you only have Nora, a chaotic heavy hitter, Ren, a martial arts master with very little stamina, you yourself, with much versatility but very little endurance, and…" Everyone turned to Jaune, who sighed. "Jaune… whatever his fighting style is."

"Sword and shield combo," the knight replied tiredly. "No ranged. It's a family heirloom. As for combat, I'm pretty much dead weight."

"Oh, come on, there's no need to be so self-deprecating," snorted Yang, jabbing his shoulder and wishfully ignoring his wince. "You made it to Beacon, you must be _great!_ Beacon accepts only the _best_."

Jaune cleared his throat nervously. "Y-Yeah… it's just that…"

"Jaune has next to no combat skill," bluntly stated Weiss. "He's been accepted as a special student by Professor Goodwitch." Everyone looked at her strangely. "What? If you only had thought of checking your teammates' Beacon database entry, you would've known that."

"Wait, Beacon data-what?" asked Yang, confused.

"Beacon Student Database, or Beacon Database for Students' Management," sighed Weiss, shaking her head. "It contains many details about our peers, so for us to know who we will be fighting alongside in the field."

"Beacon Database… for Students' Management?" A slow grin spread on Yang's face. "I knew it! Ha! `Good witch` my boots! She should be called `goodbitch`!"

"Care to explain the insult?" asked Jaune, a tick mark clearly visible on his forehead.

" **B** eacon **D** atabase for **S** tudents' **M** anagement! BDSM!" Yang laughed at her own pun while everyone else groaned, although they secretly agreed with her: it was a really unfortunately choice of words. Jaune would need to have words with his aunt about that.

"What does it say?" asked Blake, interested.

"Grades, discipline, extracurricular activities, groups or clubs, weapons, fighting styles, Semblance if known, Aura reserves level, and a picture of the student," Weiss listed off flawlessly. "It is only natural for an Academy as prestigious as Beacon to have such methods of identification."

"Although that's not really fair…" mumbled Jaune, his eyes locked onto his Scroll as he checked out the database. "I mean, not everyone here has a recorded Semblance, yet they've been training for years, so it's very unlikely it's because they haven't unlocked it yet, so it means they're hiding it. They have a `secret` advantage against their opponents…"

"Since when are you so knowledgeable on Aura and Semblances?" asked Weiss, raising a perfect eyebrow. "Yesterday you seemed pretty clueless."

"I… looked up some stuff, okay?" He laughed nervously as he remembered the thousands of links he still had to check out. "I-I mean, Professor Port's lesson seemed to be mostly just introduction of himself, so… I thought to make good use of the time I had."

"That's…" He winced, ready for the insult. Weiss's coldness was one of the things he had learned that morning. "…actually smart of you," she admitted grudgingly, not really finding any reason to berate him. Sure, he hadn't been paying attention but he had focused on improving himself. Still not smart or impressive enough to make him a good leader, but that was beside the point. He would _never_ be better than her, so it was obviously he would never be a good leader. She should've taken that place. Still, he had used his time wisely instead of just listening to the bragging of Professor Port. "But I still wonder how could you not know in the first place," she finished with a glare.

There. Jaune sighed. He'd been a fool to hope she wouldn't have had something to say about it. He would talk to her… but later. Not until the mess he had gotten himself into… or at least, his _Semblance_ had gotten him into… was over and done for good. Having some kind of knight rambling about a war no one could remember was a handful on its own, without adding arguments with cold heiresses.

"It's… a long story," he replied evasively. "But s-shouldn't we be going to class now?"

"I guess you _are_ right," sighed Weiss, as if admitting such a thing went against her very nature. "We shouldn't be late on our first cla-"

 _Ding_.

 _"Please, may Jaune Arc of Team JWVL report to the Headmaster's office immediately. Repeat, may Jaune arc of Team JWVL report to the Headmaster's office immediately."_

 _Ding_.

"-ss," finished the girl. She gave him a pointed glare and waved him off. "Go, it's probably for that guy we found in our dorm anyway. Just _try_ to come back _before_ Professor Goodwitch reports you missing."

"I'll try, see you later!" Jaune bolted off toward the Beacon Tower. _'Pretty sure auntie wouldn't do that, though. If anything, she'd tell me to try and be on time next class.'_

He barely heard Weiss's haughty _hmphf_ as he darted off to answer the summon. He promptly got lost, asked for directions, and got lost again. A polite janitor pointed him in the right direction, and he finally reached the elevator's doors.

He honestly didn't know what to expect, he just hoped for it to be something helpful, or at least something that would assure his worries.

/-/

Well, in a way, it _had_ assured his worries.

Had he been an anime character, he was pretty sure he would've sweat-dropped at the scene before him. Glynda Goodwitch, the one who should've been teaching class at the moment, was pinching the bridge of her nose like she always did when she was exasperated with him, but this time he hadn't done anything to earn her irritation. Instead, the nuisances were the two men at the table.

Jekyel and Ozpin.

The two were loudly snoring on the Headmaster's desk, both of them having drunk their asses off over war reminiscences. Ozpin still held his latest glass of Vacuan Whiskey in his right hand, and he was apparently using his laptop as pillow. Jekyel had instead face-planted onto the table's wood and remained there, unmoving, with drool seeping out of his semi-closed mouth. Jaune blinked as he took in the scene.

"Have you found out who is he?" he asked the first thing that came to his mind.

"Yes, yes we have. Apparently, he is really Sir Jekyel of Arc, Hero of the Lost Army of the War of Dust," sighed Goodwitch before rounding on him. "But you, young man…"

Jaune took a step back. No… no… nononononono!

"Oh gosh, look at you! You've grown _so much!_ " the woman gushed as she examined him, forcing him to turn so she could have a look at his hair. "Ah, you look so different from your father yet I can definitely see his kind personality in you! I've missed you so much, dear, why haven't you called to tell me you were applying for Beacon?! I was _so_ worried during Initiation… I had half an idea to send fourth year students to protect you as extra credit!"

Jaune secretly rolled his eyes. Yep, that was Auntie Glyn alright. Overly-affectionate and all. "It's good to see you too, Auntie, but I'm kinda worried about Jekyel. Why is he here if he's really fought in the War of Dirt?" he asked. He got the name wrong but whatever, he didn't care. "I mean, shouldn't he be…"

"Dead?" offered his aunt. "Of course, silly, he should. But that's where your Semblance comes in!"

"My Semblance… but shouldn't Semblances manifest only months, even _years_ after the unlocking of Aura?" he asked, thinking back to what he had read on his Scroll. "I mean, I got my own Aura unlocked yesterday, how could I have unlocked my Semblance already? It doesn't really make any sense."

"Because that's not actually true. Sit down and listen because this will be important in case you need to tell the others about it." She heedlessly pushed Jekyel off the chair and onto the floor with a loud _thud_ , and offered the chair to him. Then she pushed off Ozpin and sat down at his desk, leaving the two drunks to sleep their highs off on the hard cold floor. "The point is that what you've read on your Scroll is not completely true."

"How do you know I read it on my Scroll?" he asked, bewildered.

"Sweetie, you couldn't have read it anywhere else. You didn't visit the library, either, so mine was just an accurate guess." She gave him a sweet smile before continuing. "A Semblance usually cannot be _unlocked_ , it can only be _found_ or _discovered_. Do you know why?" He shook his head. "Because there is nothing to unlock. A Semblance is always unlocked, and may even activate before you even realize you have it. It is common for Semblances to be `unlocked` ever since the very day of Aura awakening. It is just not known to the user."

"Why don't we know of them instantly, then?" asked the boy. "Why do we have to `discover` them?"

"To this day we still don't have the answer to that question, sweetie." The woman intertwined her fingers similarly to how Ozpin usually did. "The point is that you haven't found out your Semblance yet, but it has already activated. My guess is that you will discover new powers of your Semblance's in the future. At the moment, we have a rough understanding of what it currently does."

"That is?"

"Don't be hasty, I'm about to tell you, mon petit soleil" smiled the woman, pinching his cheek affectionately. "As I already told you, Sir Jekyel died during the Last Stand of Vytal."

"Wait, Vytal?" asked Jaune, puzzled. "I thought Vale's continent wasn't named Vytal back then."

"No, it wasn't. It was named such _because_ of the Last Stand. The Lost Army was destroyed, down to the last man, but they held on enough for their allies to arrive and destroy the Northern League's united armies. The war was won… even if no one of the champions of Vytal survived to tell the tale. Unfortunately, few great heroes survive the wars they fight." She saddened for a second before sighing and shaking her head clear of those depressing thoughts. "Sir Jekyel was one of those heroes. He died fighting, and although he does not remembered the Afterlife, there is little doubt about that… no matter how strange the methods to gather said information have been." She was back to exasperated for a second as she glanced at the unconscious Headmaster. "What we know is that his soul definitely left his body."

"But then…"

"Hush, sweetie, I am telling you, you just have to be patient." She gave him a caring smile. "As I said, Sir Jekyel's soul left his body… but has apparently found a way to come back, somehow. You, or rather your Semblance." She reached out and tapped his chest, right where his heart was. "Your Semblance called his soul back to this world, probably because your blade, Crocea Mors, was originally _his_ blade. He said that the armour he's now wearing is the same as the one he died in, although he was well over forty at the time and now he seems to be just nineteen at most."

"We think this to be just a side-effect of your Semblance. It replicates the clothes in which the soul has died, and brings them closer to your own age, probably because it's _your_ Semblance," explained the woman. "We still don't know the details, but we think his soul to be linked to your weapon. Or, at least, that's how he explained it. He claims to still remember his name, but also to know that his name now is… `Crocea Mors`."

"C-Crocea?"

"Indeed, that is very strange," Glynda agreed.. "I understand that you are overwhelmed at the moment, sweetie, but I do not have nearly as much time as I wish I had. I am already delaying classes, and I've asked Professor Port to hold Combat Class in my stead until I could take over. So I have no time."

/-/

"Blah, blah, blah blah, blah, blah blah blah, blah blah, blah blah blaaah blah, blah… blah blah…"

/-/

"We will keep track of any new functionality of your Semblance's, but you need to know one more thing about it," Goodwitch continued, unaware of -or maybe just pointed ignoring- the extreme psychological sufferance that was being inflicted upon the other students by her `substitute`. "Sir Jekyel apparently wasn't surprised by Dust nor airships nor cars nor _anything_. We think that some of your memories might have passed onto him to help him adapt to this new world. Although, when we interrogated him about your past, he claimed not to know anything, so it might be something at a subconscious level rather than a real memory. So don't be surprised if he isn't shocked by our advanced technology. Is all this clear, sweetie? Do I have to repeat?"

"N-No, I think I get it…" He thought about what he had just said for a second. "No, okay, I don't get it, explain it again."

Ignoring what sounded very much like cries for help coming from the arena, Goodwitch sighed and smiled as she began to repeat everything anew.

 ** _Poor students... and poor Jekyel and Ozpin, they'll get killer headaches tomorrow._**

 ** _Anyway, I hope you like this explanation. Jaune is not giving a new soul to his weapon, he's basically calling another soul and linking that to his weapon. Still OP but what can I do about it? I needed this Semblance to write this story!_**

 ** _EDIT: I received a couple of reviews pointing out that Ruby is not the avatar of Jaune's weapon. I beg your pardon, I forgot to add this explanation. The summary is probably a bit deceiving, but Ruby won't be Crocea Mors's Avatar. Instead, Jaune will forge a new weapon, Rubis du Soleil (thanks to lordrednight for the name!) and Ruby will be the avatar of THAT weapon. I haven't been clear thus far, so let me say this: we won't see Ruby for two more chapters! I was planning on having her appear on ch4 or 5, so you'll have to wait a little. I hope now this is clear. Again, I apologize for the misunderstanding._**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh._**


	3. Broken Hearts

**_Hey everyone! Took me less than last time to get this out! I'm getting better! Although... watch out because this is going to shock many of you. Read at your own risk._**

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

Jaune sighed. Telling his team about his Semblance hadn't gone how he'd envisioned it to go. Not at all. Not even close. Not even in the same plane of existence. Not… okay he'd gotten his point across. Nora had believed him immediately, of course. That was probably something relatively normal for her. Ren had been harder to convince, but he eventually accepted his explanation. Weiss… she was another matter altogether.

The five of them were back in their dorm. Nora was laying on her bed with her headphones… although Jaune suspected the music wasn't there and she was just trying to eavesdrop on a non-private conversation. She was weird like that. Ren was sitting on his bed, cleaning his weapons Storm Flowers, not saying a word. Jekyel, now with a killer headache due to all the alcohol he'd drunk, was laying on Jaune's bed with an ice bag pressed to his forehead. Jaune didn't know if the ice was actually helping, or was just numbing him to the pain. Frankly, he didn't care. And then there was Weiss, who was standing in front of the knight himself, a full head shorter and clearly angry. Or disbelieving. Or irritated. Or any other emotion, she always had that expression so Jaune guessed it was her normal expression, like Ren's was a deadpan.

"Weiss, listen…"

"No, and this is final. I am not going to listen to the rambling idiocies of a bumbling dunce who thinks he can lie like that and expect me to believe it," she stated. "I don't care what Professor Goodwitch told you. I wouldn't have cared even had Ozpin himself told you. Not even Oum himself would convince me."

"But Weiss, it's the truth!" exclaimed Jaune. "I can ask Au-a-a-a- _Professor Goodwitch_ to back me up!"

"I! Don't! Care!" replied Weiss. "It's impossible to have such a Semblance! Oum wouldn't allow that!"

"What is wrong with my Semblance?!"

"You can freaking resurrect people, that's what!" shouted Weiss, and Jaune froze. "That's what your Semblance does! It takes the soul of a dead one and brings them back to life! Can you give me an example of a more powerful Semblance?! Resurrection has _never ever_ been recorded as a possible Semblance! Teleportation, Aid and Time Manipulation are currently the top three most powerful possible Semblances, not _Resurrection!_ It has been theorized as an impossible Semblance and now you're telling me that _you_ of all people have it?! That's a whole new level of idiocy!"

"Well, it doesn't exactly _resurrect_ …" began the boy, but Weiss was having none of that.

"That's _exactly_ what it does! It took that idiot's soul from the dead and brought him back! Like… a zombie or something!" yelled Weiss, pointing an accusing finger to Jekyel, who merely groaned as her voice hammered viciously spiked nails into his head. "The fact it somehow bound him to your sword means nothing! You! _Resurrected_! Someone!"

"So… yay for me?" Jaune offered weakly even as a vein in Weiss's forehead began to pulse, a tick mark clearly visible.

"You're _not_ deserving of such a Semblance," she growled. "You're an incompetent, moronic, unskilled, weak, ignorant _idiot!_ You can't fight! You can't study! You shouldn't even be the team leader! You didn't have your Aura unlocked! You barely know which edge is sharp in your sword! You don't use your shield for coverage! Your combat skills are six feet below the ground! On a scale from one to a hundred, you'd rate negative hundred!"

Jaune flinched at every insult as she went on, but when he tried to speak she immediately cut him off again.

"A Semblance like that should go to someone who's strong! Skilled! Smart! Knowledgeable! Someone who has trained!" she yelled at him. "I've trained all my life! I've trained to be perfect! The perfect heiress! The perfect daughter! The perfect Huntress! The perfect fighter! The perfect student! _I_ should've been made team leader, not _you_! Ozpin made a huge mistake when he chose you! I should've had a Semblance like that! Not some unworthy imbecile!"

She stomped her foot at each remark before she stormed out of the dorm like an Angel of Wrath. Jaune followed her with his eyes but froze at the last moment as he spotted something silver at the corner of her eyes.

Weiss, the cold girl he'd learned to fear in just the two days of school he'd lived so far, was crying.

He reached out with a hand to stop her, but she was already gone, and his hand fell back to his side. That hurt. Knowing he'd made her cry hurt more than all her insults put together. Besides, it wasn't like she'd lied. She'd told the truth. A harsh one but true nonetheless. He could accept that. But somehow, for some reason, he had made her cry with his actions or words.

She was right. He didn't deserved a Semblance that resurrected people. He didn't deserve it when he got it, and he would never deserve it. She would. She deserved to have a powerful Semblance. Despite her bad attitude Weiss was indeed strong and smart, as opposite to himself. But somehow he had gotten it while Weiss had her glyphs… thing.

He sighed. "Somehow, I messed up," he stated wearily. "I don't know how, but I did."

"She's just upset, Jaune. And jealous, although she'll never admit it," Ren replied calmly. "It's not your fault for having the Semblance you have. And while I'll admit I _am_ tempted to ask you to use it on… some people… I also know that lashing out like that was not something you can be blamed for." He set Storm Flowers down and looked at him. "You now have a great power, Jaune, and that means you have a great responsibility too. I do not envy you for that. Keeping that specific detail of your Semblance a secret might help, though."

"Wait, what does that matter?" asked Jaune. "We were talking about Weiss!"

Ren shook his head. "As important as she is at the moment, I fear I'll have to press the matter. Do _not_ reveal that your Semblance resurrects people. _Never_. Say it builds Aura constructs and gives them a personality based off your own. Say whatever you want, but _don't_ tell the truth," he stressed the word. Jaune opened his mouth to speak, but Ren stood up and glared at him, seriousness all that could be seen on his face. "People would be jealous. Most of Remnant would kill for such a Semblance. People would want you to resurrect their beloved ones. It would cause an uproar. You're lucky Weiss just got angry instead of reporting you immediately to people of power."

"W-What?"

"Jaune, to put it simply, you can resurrect the dead," stated Ren. "Do you know for how long humanity has been trying to do exactly that? Millennia. Sure, there are limitations, but that's not the point. If word got out… you'd be swarmed constantly. It's wiser to allow the dead to rest."

Jaune blinked at him. "But… if I can resurrect the dead…"

"No, Jaune, that's a destructive way of thinking and deep down, you know it," Ren shook his head. "Bringing back the dead is _wrong_ , Jaune. _Wrong_. They've lived their lives and passed away. Giving second chances would destroy our civilization. You may think of it as a small thing, a little power of a young adult, but to Remnant resurrection is a dream become true. Keep it secret, or hell shall break loose."

"Come on, Ren, it's just a-"

"NO!" Jaune flinched at Ren's sudden outburst. Sure, with his current level of training _anyone_ in Beacon would've been able to scare him, but there was something in seeing the usually so calm boy shout that he admitted he'd been close to pissing his pants. "Jaune, this is something _extremely_ serious. This cannot happen. I may not have known you for long but I'm not going to allow you to make this mistake. No, no, no! Revealing such a Semblance is just going to cause _mayhem_!"

Jaune tried to step back, but Ren pressed on. "I… o-okay, I…"

"PROMISE!"

"Fine!" screamed Jaune, startled. "I promise! I won't tell anyone except for emergencies!"

Ren nodded and returned to his bed, sitting down and picking up Storm Flowers again. "Now, you should go find Weiss, Jaune," he stated, back to being eerily calm. "She's probably upset, and as team leader, it's your job to help her."

Jaune kept an eye on him as he exited the door. _'Note to self: Ren is scary and probably enjoys frightening me too.'_ he thought as he jogged down the halls, trying to guess where Weiss would be. The girl in white wasn't one to hide in a classroom and cry, nor she was one to run in the courtyard. The library wasn't even considered, and so was the main hall. He would need to search all of Beacon to find her. That was going to be a _long_ day.

"Ms Schnee, first off I have to ask you to speak lower, I have a killer headache. And secondly no, I don't think I've made a mistake when I made Mr Arc the leader."

Bingo.

Jaune skidded to a stop, or at least tried to. He hadn't taken into account that Weiss and who seemed to be the Headmaster would've kept moving instead of remaining still. With a yelp, he crashed into both of them, sending them all to the ground. Ozpin's mug of coffee remained in the air for a second before coming down on the three, somehow managing to spill the hot liquid only on Weiss's pristine white hair and dress, staining the hair and ruining the dress.

Her expression, already displeased, turned murderous.

"Arc…"

"I'm sorry!" he blurted out immediately, raising his hands in defence as he tried to scramble to his feet. Unfortunately, he hadn't considered that also Ozpin had been trying to sit up, and the two ended up banging heads. Jaune yelped and grabbed his head to stop the ringing. Ozpin, who still had a headache, was just knocked unconscious on the spot. "Whoops…"

"Did you just kill the Headmaster?!" Weiss gripped her hair and almost pulled at it, shaking her head in disbelief. "No… no, not even you can do something as moronic as bang heads and kill the Headmaster. Oh Oum, why did I have to be saddled with someone like you?!"

"I-I… I wanted to talk," Jaune whispered, lowering his head in shame. "I… I didn't mean to give him a concussion… I made you cry and I wanted to solve that…"

"I was _not_ crying!" shouted the heiress, somehow getting even angrier. "Why would I cry over something as worthless as you?!"

"Weiss, calm down-"

"NO!" she yelled, glaring daggers at him. He considered himself lucky looks couldn't kill, or he would've been killed much sooner. "You took from me the position of team leader! You took away my chance of speaking with Ozpin! And you have the most stupidly powerful Semblance I've ever heard of! It's not fair!"

"Weiss, please lower your-"

"No! I will _not_ accept that!" Weiss's eyes were ablaze with unbridled fury. "You've done nothing to earn that position nor that Semblance!"

Something within Jaune snapped at that. He was usually a very calm person… or at least someone who wouldn't dare argue with people who could easily kill him without a second thought. It was said that the wrath of a patient man was something terrifying to behold… that wasn't _completely_ true. Wrath or no wrath, Jaune couldn't defeat people with years of training over him. Maybe he would catch up eventually… maybe… but a mere emotion couldn't do that. What it could do, though, was to make him snap back. "Well, what have _you_ done, then?! What have you done to deserve that position, aside from being an all around bitchy princess?!"

"How… how dare you!" exclaimed Weiss, turning on her heel to storm off, but Jaune grabbed her wrist and held her there. Despite the massive difference in training, Weiss's fighting style was more about speed, precision, Dust and Glyphs… not strength. And despite his lack of formal training, Jaune was stronger than the average person. Not enough to win against people like his peers, but enough to stop the heiress. He knew that, had she put any real effort in escaping, she would've succeeded, but he also knew that she would've never flailed around just to free herself.

"No! A `how dare you` is not a good answer!" he snapped. "Tell me, Weiss, I get that you're angry. But as Mom always said getting angry won't solve the problem. So be mature and tell me _what_ the problem is!"

Weiss freed herself with a harsh yank, almost making him stumble. "The problem?! The problem is that you-" She was cut off forcefully as Jaune grabbed her again and pulled her in a tight hug, not letting her go even when she began to kick and flail. "What are you doing?! Release me immediately!"

"I'm doing what my sisters used to do with me when I was mad," he replied easily, his superior strength keeping her from doing anything drastic, like using Myrtenaster. Uh, he would need to remember that speedsters engaged in a brawl would be near-defenceless… Except Blake. And Pyrrha. And anyone who wasn't Weiss, now that he thought of it. "And I'm not going to let you go until you calm down and _really_ tell me what's wrong."

For what felt like ten minutes, Weiss kicked and thrashed around, vainly trying to escape his embarrassing and very un-Schnee-like hug. Slowly, her efforts dulled until they stopped altogether, but Jaune didn't dare release her in fear of what she would do. Hers was an angry stillness, not a calm one. "Wanna talk now?"

"No," she growled. "But I'm guessing you're not going to let go until I do, are you?"

"Honestly, I'd have to be a fool to do that," replied the boy. "So… Why are you so angry? I mean… I get that I may not be the best leader. But about my Semblance shouldn't you, like… be happy for me? We _are_ on a team together… plus there's the fact that a strong Semblance would help the whole team, no?"

Weiss stood silent for a second, her forehead almost comically pressed against his shoulder, looking down not in shame or embarrassment, but out of pure irritated resignation. "That's not what the problem is," she finally said. Jaune had to stop himself from groaning. She could have just said he was right on that! "The problem is who you are. Or rather, who you _aren't_. You're not special. You're just a normal person. A ridiculously incompetent person, too, but that's beside the point."

Jaune winced at the jab.

"You don't know who I am. Well, let me explain who I am, Arc, and then you shall see why you're undeserving of being the leader." Her words came out hard and bitter, one of her hands closing into a fist somewhere in the forced embrace. "I started training when I was thirteen, a year later than most because my father was against me becoming a Huntress. He only allowed me to train because by doing so I would be able to defend myself from assassins and terrorists." Jaune easily guessed she was talking about the White Fang. "I had to train harder than anyone to make up for the missed year. I had personal trainers and I studied every day. All the while, I had to follow my father's wishes, singing at his parties and being the perfect daughter."

She raised her head to look at him, and there was nothing but contempt in her eyes. "I am not the spoiled princess everyone thinks I am. I had to work harder than anyone to achieve what I have now, and I had to go against my father's wishes," she stated coldly. "But then an uncouth peasant steps in and is made leader, a position he doesn't deserve. And barely two days after he unlocked his Aura, he finds out to have possibly the most sought-after power in the entire damn world. Do you see the problem now?"

The sheer amount of sarcasm almost had Jaune shielding himself. Despite being still held by him, the girl was basically emanating killing intent. Normally, Jaune would've smiled nervously, stepped back, allowed her to go and then run very far away in fright. But that wasn't `normally`.

Because, to tell the truth, he was kinda annoyed too.

"Yes, I do see it," he replied, frowning more when she appeared partly satisfied. "It's you."

"Excuse me?!"

"You are the problem. Or rather, _your_ problem. Not me, not anyone else." He released her and stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. "You can go and wallow in your own self-pity at not having been chosen to be leader, now, or you can remain and listen. Your pick, it's not like I can force you to stay."

Weiss's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms, mirroring his position. A tense second passed before she huffed. "I'm not going to flee like a coward from a discussion. Besides, what could you have to say, aside from ridiculous excuses and unreasonable explanations?"

Jaune's eyebrow twitched as he looked at the girl. Under any other circumstance, he would've called her an angel fallen straight from Heaven. She was beautiful. But at the moment? At the moment he was stressed. The first two days of school had gone shittily. He'd thought that the future protectors of the world wouldn't have lowered themselves to insulting weaker peers. He'd been wrong. Thankfully Aunt Glynda had helped him out a few times, but offence and ridicule basically followed him like the plague. It wasn't constant, fortunately, but it was still shitty. To that he had to add the issue with his Semblance and the headache that followed. And on top of that there were Ren's reaction to his Semblance and Weiss's temper tantrum. At the moment, he didn't see an angel.

He only saw a little girl stomping her feet because she couldn't get what she wanted.

"I won't say you're being unreasonable because that would be underestimating your actions. You're angry because you couldn't get what you wanted, like a little girl. You've trained like a warrior yet all you've done so far has been whining about it. If you really wanted that position so much, then you would've tried to _prove_ you're better at it than myself." Weiss's expression darkened at that. "And besides, from what you've told me you've trained alone. You're not used to teamwork. I'm not the best warrior around… heck, I'm worse than anyone else in here… and I've never led a battalion. Frankly I never played many war games. But I do know how to handle people. And warriors are just people who know how to fight."

"And that would be enough to make _you_ the leader?" Weiss asked sarcastically.

"I don't know why Ozpin didn't make Ren the leader," replied Jaune. Honestly, Ren would've been the obvious choice, with his silent wisdom and calm. "But I do know why he didn't make _you_ the leader. You've been acting against your own team for two days now. Just two days since I was made leader, and I already want to drop a truck on you. You may have trained, but you're not the right _person_ to be leader."

"What does that even mean?!" shouted Weiss, throwing her arms in the air. "You're not making any sense!"

"I am and you know. You don't know how to lead. You're fantastic at making rules but you don't realize that sometimes, you need to relent and offer your team some space instead of filling everything with rules." Jaune's eyes narrowed further. "Leading people doesn't mean being the strongest, nor the smartest, nor the best student. But it does mean being able to interact with people and accept them. It's not by forcing them into _your_ expectations that you create a good team. You've lived and trained on your own all your life: how can you expect to be able to lead a team? You may be our strongest member but you're not our leader."

Weiss looked ready to retort before Jaune stepped forwards and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing not-too-gently. "I think you're expecting too much from yourself. You don't need to prove anything to anyone," he told her kindly but firmly, just like his sisters used to do with him. "You don't need to be the best if you don't want to. Believe me, being leader is just a bunch more stress and responsibility added to the total. Especially since we haven't gone on any mission yet, leadership is just a shitty but necessary position one has to take. You don't want to be leader to _lead_ , but to _prove_ you can. Well, newsflash, starting from right now you don't need to prove anything to anyone any more. We are your team and we are going to support you and be with you whenever you need us. Pay us back by doing the same." He gave her a gentle push. "For example, now go back to our dorm and ask Ren about my Semblance. He'll tell you our plan. Now go, shoo!" He exclaimed the last part with a joking voice, pushing her away.

Weiss didn't laugh nor smile, but she didn't retort, either. She seemed lost in her own thoughts as she slowly began to walk back to their dorm. Jaune didn't know what she was thinking about, but he hoped it wouldn't bring any more pain to his already stressed shoulders. He sighed deeply.

"You can come out now, Auntie. She's gone."

Immediately, Glynda Goodwitch turned the corner and walked up to him with a gentle smile, although she also held a small frown as she looked to where Weiss had disappeared. "Very well said, sweetie. I was about to step in myself but you really handled it well," she praised him. "Should I lower her combat score to teach her humility?"

Jaune sighed again. "No, Auntie, don't worry. I think I got this," he told her before looking down at Ozpin's unconscious form. "Now… what should I do with the body?"

Goodwitch looked down at Ozpin and sighed. "Don't worry, I'll take care of him," she said, using her Semblance to lift him off the ground and starting to walk away. "Just go back to your dorm, sweetie. After such an inspiring speech you must be thirsty. It's not healthy to stay thirsty so go drink some water, will you?"

"Of course, Auntie."

Goodwitch smiled one last time before she turned away and her expression changed. The smile shrieked in terror as a fearsome scowl murdered it mercilessly, and the light in her eyes left as sternness and discipline took over. In a little over a second, the smiling Goodwitch had turned into the demonic-scowling Goodwitch, and students parted before her. Just like usual.

She reached Ozpin's office without problems. Port had a laugh at seeing Ozpin unconscious, and she secretly agreed with the fat professor: seeing the old bastard being knocked out by a boy had been hilarious. But her stony expression hadn't changed even though she inwardly smirked.

Setting the Headmaster down on the floor, she moved to clear some space on his desk so to place him there until he came to. Doing so, she knocked some large red object aside, and it clattered to the floor with a metallic sound. She looked at it and then at the note attached to it. Her heart fell and even her expression melted into a grievous grimace.

/-/

 _ **BOOM**_ **.**

Jaune and his team exchanged glances as the powerful explosion rocked their entire room. Nora raised her hands, showing her instant surrender and also informing them she hadn't been the cause of the explosion. The blond knight rose from his seat and went to open the door, peeking into the corridor. Smoke was coming from Team NBLS's still closed door, and he grew worried.

His team following right behind him, he nodded to the several students who had begun showing their heads from their dorms. He was going to take care of it, or at least he would've tried to take care of it. The only other student he knew who could cause such an explosion was Yang, but she would need to be seriously enraged to do it, and he wasn't sure he wanted to face an angry Yang. Sure, she wouldn't kill him, but she would most probably punch him. Hard. And in places he really didn't want to be punched in. The girl knew how to be ruthless when she wanted to, despite her bright personality and joking habits.

He rapped his knuckles on the door three times in a quick sequence. On the other side, he vaguely heard a couple of voices exchanging a few words, too soft to be heard by him. He didn't hear steps, but a few seconds later the door opened, allowing more smoke to exit, and a sad-looking Sky Lark appeared. He looked about to shoo them away, but then his head just fell and he stepped aside, allowing them to see the room.

The beds and most of the floor were severely damaged, but that wasn't what he noticed. Blake Belladonna and Pyrrha Nikos, two other members of Team NBLS, were hidden in the bathroom and wore the same sad expression Sky had. His gaze was immediately attracted to the kneeling beauty in the middle of the room, a red object held to her chest.

"She's gone… she's gone…" Yang Xiao Long looked horrible, tears streaming down her face as she rocked in place, cradling the object with enough force to make her knuckles turn white. Sobs wrecked her frame as she didn't even try to pull herself together. The cheerful, confident girl he'd always seen was gone and in her place there was a devastated and empty shell was left. A note had been left abandoned on the floor, and Sky pointed it to Jaune.

Picking it up, Jaune felt his chest constrict.

 _Ms Yang Xiao Long,_

 _we regret to inform You that Your sister Ruby Rose was killed three days ago during a robbery in Vale. The police identified the infamous criminal Roman Torchwick to be the killer. The medics identified the cause of the death to be a terminal fracture in the cervical vertebrae. Death was immediate and painless._

 _We sent You the deceased's weapon, the scythe-sniper rifle combination named Crescent Rose._

 _We are truly sorry for Your loss,_

 _Beacon's direction,_

 _Professor Glynda Goodwitch._

 ** _Ouch. Ow. Stop thr-ow!-owing rocks at me! Let me explain!_**

 ** _I think we can all say that Jaune and Weiss's little argument was important but not as important as the last part._**

 ** _Well, you should've expected this. Jaune's Semblance can only choose DEAD people's souls, so Ruby had to be dead, or to die. For some reason (Goodwitch having been too busy cooing Jaune over the phone) Goodwitch didn't arrive in time, and the explosion Roman caused on the roof actually hit Ruby. She was sent flying and hit a wall in the wrong way. Between explosion and crash, her Aura gave up and she broke her neck. Brutal? Yes, definitely. It's something I wouldn't never written, but I needed Ruby to be dead for Jaune's Semblance to work. So, I'm sorry Ruby, but you died._**

 ** _Good news, she'll be back. I said she'll appear in Ch4 or Ch5 and she will._**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	4. Rubis Solaire

**_Ow! Ow! Ow! Stop throwing rocks, the chapter -Ow!- is here!_**

 ** _Whew, I wrote all this today. Usually I take a week to write Extension but I felt really bad for having killed Ruby so I had to write this._**

 ** _The rocks were just an encouragement._**

 ** _But speaking about the rocks... Ouch! Do you know how many rocks did I get?! Let's count!_**

 ** _Right now I have had 783 views on Ch3, where Ruby dies. Taking into consideration that 20% of those readers threw rocks, we have that 156.6 people threw rocks. If each of them threw rocks at an average speed of 1 rock each 10 seconds (average, there were the faster ones and the slower ones maybe), and I posted Ch3 25 hours ago, it means that they threw... 1,409,400..._**

 ** _A fucking million and half rocks! Those hurt!_**

 ** _Also, for the user marcialhd, Melf's Minute Meteor hurt too! Antimagic Field can last only so long... And the guest who 'kindly' threw semi-solid lava at me, I'll let you know I hate the heat! And as for YOU, XxPokemonMasterxX, now aim away your damn arrow, I'd like to keep my knee joints whole!_**

 ** _Ehm-Ehm, now that that's out of the way... onto the chapter._**

"How is Yang?"

Sky Lark, the only boy of Team NBLS and currently the only member willing to talk, raised his head and tiredly looked at the questioner. "Not fine."

The two teams were sitting at their usual position on the mess hall. Since their dorms were basically adjacent, they shared a table during lunch. In the first two days, they had shared small talk like good peers, but now more than ever it was clear that they were just peers, not friends nor even acquaintances. Team NBLS refused to talk with anyone about anything, and Team JWVL didn't know what to say. Yang had been skipping classes for four days now, but Jaune was pretty sure he could hear her crying every time they headed to class.

Without the bright presence of the blonde brawler, Team NBLS was even quieter than usual. Blake Belladonna, a dark haired girl with a bow on her head, was silent even on the best of times. And last was Pyrrha Nikos, a flame-haired beauty with emerald green eyes, a very introvert person by herself and even more during the last four days. Sky was the only who would answer questions, but even then he kept his answers really short.

Jaune exchanged a glance with his team. Ren and Nora alike were eating in silence, heads kept down and avoiding the others' gazes. Weiss was staring down as well and eating mechanically. Jaune knew that they were like that only because they didn't know what to say. Jekyel had already eaten his plate, and was looking at him with a question in his dark brown eyes, his arms crossed on his chest. Despite looking far younger than his actual over forty, the depths in his eyes remained, depths of what he had seen and lived. Jaune felt himself shrink every time he gazed into those depths. Jekyel was a somewhat awkward, kind person, but he had a wisdom no one of them could even begin to grasp.

Jaune returned to look at Sky. "Is she eating?"

The blue-grey haired boy stopped for a second and briefly glanced up. Wordlessly, he returned to angrily picking at his food with his fork. Jaune waited for the answer, but after a minute passed and it was clear the boy wasn't going to respond to that, Jaune cleared his throat. "I know we're not on your team. And I know you don't want to talk about it. But I _am_ worri-"

"She's not." Sky didn't even look up as he gave his answer.

Jaune felt his heart fall a little. He looked at his team again, meeting Ren's eyes. The pink-eyed boy narrowed his eyes and gave a slow shake. _'It's wiser to allow the dead to rest.'_ The ninja's words came back to his mind, and his eyes moved to the rest of his team. Nora was still eating quickly, as if keeping her mouth full to avoid having to speak. Weiss was still eating mechanically, not meeting his eyes. Both of them had agreed to keep his Semblance a secret. Both had agreed with Ren's statement.

His eyes moved to the one who hadn't.

Sir Jekyel D'Or Arc, Hero of Vytal. The man who had a statue in the Beacon courtyard. Commander of the Lost Army. The man was kinda awkward and socially inept, but if Jaune had to describe him in a single word he would be `veteran`. He moved with the grace of a man in armour, not fast nor agile but confident and secure. And while he usually didn't speak much, his wisdom was great. He had been eager to tell Jaune of his war techniques and tales, but he didn't really talk with the others.

Jekyel had disagreed with Ren. He'd told Jaune to save Yang's sister. Every day first thing in the morning Jekyel would glance at him with a pleading look that said 'save her'. And every day before they all went to sleep, Jekyel would give him a glare that said 'her pain's on you. You have the power to end it, yet you're not saving her'. Every time they had lunch, Jekyel would stare at him, daring him to be sorry for a team he could help but didn't want to help. Every time they passed by NBLS's door and they heard Yang crying, Jekyel would look at him with disappointment that meant 'you could stop this. Why aren't you doing it?'.

Meeting his eyes, Jaune felt a shiver going down his spine, once again reminding himself just how old Jekyel really was. He wasn't a boy in his late teens like he looked to be. He was a man who had fought and died for what he believed was right. Jekyel's eyes had the answer to his question, if only he could bring himself to ask it. But the problem was… did he want to ask it?

Jaune wasn't selfish nor evil, that was known. But part of him said that if he were to act and help Yang, things would just end poorly. His friends would become reckless, believing he would be able to resurrect them, and they would start taking unnecessary risks. Word could get out, and Jaune wasn't stupid enough to think that he would be left alone if that were to happen. Jekyel's answer was simple. Help others, no matter what it could cost him. And Jaune honestly shared that feeling. In any other case, he would've helped without even having to think about it.

But in his current position, Jaune wasn't sure.

Helping would've been the right thing to do, but its repercussions could've easily influenced both teams. Even without considering outsiders getting wind of his Semblance, the two teams would probably consider him their ace and last-resort trick, relying on him to resurrect them. Jaune had played enough RPG games to know that it happened often. He didn't want that.

He looked back at Sky. "Not even what you bring her?"

Wordlessly, the boy shook his head. That wasn't good. Jaune knew that it would take her close to a month before death by starvation, but staying four days without eating was not healthy. Heck, staying _one_ day without eating wasn't healthy. He knew she would eventually come out of it like his family had done with his father's death by cancer, but eventually didn't sit well with him. She didn't deserve `eventually`. She deserved `immediately`.

He looked down at his still uneaten food and reached a decision. He met Jekyel's eyes and after a second, he nodded. The knight's brown eyes widened for a second before a smile spread on his face. He nodded back.

"I'm not really hungry," Jaune told his team, rising with his food tray. "I'm gonna go back to the dorm and rest for a bit. Okay, guys?"

The three nodded idly. Jaune began to walk away, and waited for Jekyel to distract them. He did. With a nonchalant smile, he stretched and somehow managed to fall from the chair, rocking the entire table. As everyone focused on him with deadpan stares, Jaune hurried out of the mess hall with his food tray still held in his hands.

He skirted through the students with practised ease. During family reunions, his house was always pretty full, so every Arc knew the art of walking in a crowd while holding stuff -usually food or gifts, in the Arcs' case- effortlessly.

He arrived at NBLS's door in little more than five minutes. Holding the tray with one hand, he knocked on the wood.

"Go away," came the weak reply from the other side of the door. He knocked again, this time getting no reply.

"Knock it down." He jumped as he heard Jekyel's voice behind him. Hell, he was surely deaf if a man in full armour managed to sneak upon him. He raised an eyebrow at the knight, and he just sighed. "Fine, I'll do it. Besides, I had to come with you to help you with the explanation." He turned to the door and lifted a single armoured foot. With a determined grimace, he kicked the door off its hinges, sending it crashing to the floor and startling a teary Yang.

"I said-" she began, eyes red not for her Semblance but from crying.

Jekyel cut her off. "We heard you, and we decided to disobey," he stated, stepping into the room. "We both know how it is to lose family and we decided to come and talk to you."

"Go aw-"

"I said talk _to_ you, not talk _with_ you," the knight interrupted her again. He grabbed the tray of food from Jaune and set it down before Yang. "First off, eat. You aren't in good shape. And second, despite how crazy it sounds, we might have a way to help you."

"I'm calling Professor Goodwitch to back us up," stated Jaune, messing with his Scroll. "…and to fix the door, but that's beside the point."

Yang tried to speak again, Jekyel merely forced a piece of bread into her mouth. "Now, I was saying, we might help you. Jaune's Semblance is quite useful in this kind of situations. I know you won't believe me, but it's true," he continued as Yang had to chew and swallow to avoid choking. "The question is… how much do you want your sister back?"

Yang's eyes turned blood red and she opened her mouth to speak, but an armoured hand covered it. Jekyel might've been awkward at times, but Jaune had learned that when it came to fighting, he was far above them. Especially when it came to fighting without complex weapons like mechashift. "That was a rhetorical question, of course you want her back," he said. "What would you say, if I told you Jaune could bring her back?"

Yang glared at him, and he removed his hand. "Just… just fucking leave me alone," she hissed. "You want to rub that in too?!"

"I would never try to aggravate the death of a dear one," replied Jekyel. "I have experience with losing people and I'm just offering you a second chance. Jaune should be the one to speaking since it's _his_ Semblance, but I knew you could've reacted badly, and Jaune is not prepared to handle that. So, I repeat my question, what would you say if I told you you could have her back?"

"Fuck you!" shouted Yang, flames lighting up her frame and tears in her eyes. "Stop messing with me!"

"I am _not_ messing with you, little girl," retorted the knight, a white Aura surrounding him as well. "And if you think me immature enough to make fun of others' pain, then you are so very wrong. But in order for this conversation to happen, I need you to actively participate instead of just reacting badly."

"She's dead!" screamed Yang, punching him without many results.

"Well, I was too!" countered the man, making her stop. Her eyes were open with both shock and disbelief. Jekyel rubbed his forehead. "Jaune, I was drunk when Goodwitch explained, so it's your turn to speak now."

Jaune gave a nervous laugh as the enraged Yang focused on him. He knew he had to thread carefully. "My Semblance. It's complicated, but to put it in just a word is: resurrection."

/-/

"I can't believe this."

"Me neither," sighed Jaune. Apparently, Goodwitch was too busy with her job to come with them and explain. It had fallen upon the two Arcs to show her the light, and they had to move from Team NBLS's dorm to avoid the others to come back and surprise them. So they had decided to move out and into the courtyard, where they were now pacing.

Yang's eyes weren't red any more, and she seemed to have forgotten her depression to settle with disbelief. She was still holding the red object that was apparently a scythe-sniper rifle combination to her chest, but now her grip was just a tiny bit looser. Her eyes continuously darted between the two Arcs, trying to catch the act, but there was no lie.

"Your Semblance is fucking resurrection?"

"More or less," shrugged Jaune. "I'm not really certain. Jekyel surely is alive but we still don't know the details. It might be a little more complicated than that, but if he says it'll work, I trust him. Besides, he's the one who experienced it first-hand, not me."

"So… let me sum up the process," continued Yang. "You can… touch? Use? Whatever… you can connect to a weapon and resurrect its first wielder. And I mean really _resurrect_ , not just create an Aura construct and animate it, I mean taking the soul of the wielder and giving them back their bodies. And they still have their memories, but in Jekyel's case he also received a basic understanding of what changed in the world, like cars and airships and guns. And all you need to do is to use their weapon. Then why haven't your resurrected dozens already?!"

"It's not that easy," replied Jaune. "My Semblance is… it's too strong. If people got wind of that…"

"They would give everyone a weapon, and resurrect everyone every time they died," completed Jekyel. "Death is not something to mess with. He wants to help you because your sister died when her time hadn't come yet. She was too young to die."

"How do you know how old was she?" asked Yang.

"She can't be fifty if you are her sister," noted Jekyel.

"Fair enough."

"So I… convinced Jaune to use his Semblance to bring her back." Jekyel looked at the weapon Yang was holding. "But you will have to give up that weapon. Jaune can only use his Semblance on _his_ weapon, so he would need to use it."

Yang's reaction was immediate. Her arm shot out and Jaune groaned as the red object basically caved in his ribcage before he grabbed it. Yang moved her hand and pressed a switch somewhere in the object, making it unfold. In shock, Jaune dropped it as it deployed into a giant scythe. Not even a second later, Yang had already smacked him. "Don't you dare drop my sister's scythe _ever again_ ," she growled as he scrambled to retrieved it.

It was light. That was the first thing he noticed. It was not _light_ , but it was more or less as heavy as his sword was, and that was absurd. Such a large weapon should've been heavy, not light. He lifted it up and yelped when he accidentally fired a shot. The bullet flew true and destroyed a window before a loud yelp was heard. "Whoops?"

Yang blinked and sighed. "Ruby… believe it or not, Ruby did something similar when she first started training," she said as she rubbed her forehead. "Sniped our father right where it's most painful."

Both males cringed at that.

She turned to Jaune and glared fiercely. "Do your trick. Now. I want my sister back."

Jaune laughed nervously as he took a step back, but he bumped into Jekyel and promptly fell to the ground. His ancestor sighed as he pulled him up, and turned to the brawler. "Not so fast, Yang. I understand your desire to see your sister again but this cannot be done so rashly and impulsively." Yang's glare turned to him, but he wasn't fazed. "This weapon is not good for Jaune. I may be wrong but I guess your sister allowed her weapon to drag her along with each swing. The unnecessarily large blade unbalances the weapon, so I'm guessing this weapon is apter for a smaller person, capable of following the weapon instead of guiding it."

"Yeah, and so?" grunted Yang, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And so I refuse to force Jaune to wield a weapon that is completely incompatible with his own physique only because of your impatience." Yang's eyes turned red again and she readied a punch before Jekyel slapped her. Given how he was still wearing his armour, it hurt quite a bit. "Stop being a bitch and listen. Crocea Mors was modified during the years, so I know that modifying a weapon does not prevent Jaune from recalling the wielder. I am not as sure about post-resurrection modification."

"What do you mean?" Yang frowned at him.

"It means I'm not sure Jaune could modify this weapon _after_ resurrecting your sister without hurting her," explained Jekyel. "And since this weapon _has_ to be modified in order to fit Jaune… the resurrection will have to wait until this weapon is ready."

Yang's hands closed into fists. "How long is the forging going to take?"

"That depends," interjected Jaune. "I mean, dad was a smith and I'm pretty good too, so the actual forging won't take much, especially if we are allowed to use the school's forge. It's the design I'm worried ab-Eeek!"

He yelped unashamedly as Yang picked him up by his hoodie, looking at him with red frightening eyes. When she spoke, her voice was steel. Melted, red-hot steel. "Then what the fuck are we waiting for?" she rhetorically asked, flames in her hair. "We have a fucking weapon to design."

/-/

"Axe-bazooka combination?"

Jaune sighed as he pinched his nose. Before him there were two blondes and a brunette, all looking through several books at the same time. He himself had a large book before him.

"No, Yang, that just plainly doesn't appeal me," he replied tiredly. He had thought that weapon designing would've been a fun affair, but it had been two hours already they hadn't even begun to design a weapon. They had been holed up in the weapon section of library all along to search for a suitable weapon, and after the first hour even Goodwitch had joined them. Jaune and Yang had skipped classes, of course, but Yang was excused due to her grieving and Jaune…

Auntie Glynda had made sure he wasn't even _reported_ missing. After all, he'd skipped _her_ classes. It was nice to be the teacher's nephew, even if its price came in exaggerated affection.

"Spear-rifle combination? Longsword-plasma rifle combination? Rollerblades with real blades?" offered Goodwitch, looking through the weapons. "Mace-Gatling gun combination? Flail-flamethrower combination? Pen an… I don't believe this… Pen and clipboard enhanced with Dust? Wing prosthetics with blades and guns implanted in them?"

"No. No. No. No. No. No. And no." Jaune sighed as he looked down at his own book. "This is gonna be a very long night, isn't it?"

"Maybe we should search for more complex weapons?" offered Jekyel. "We've searched all the single weapons and part of the two-weapons combinations. We will never find a weapon if we continue like this."

"If only _someone_ would stop being so damn picky!" huffed Yang, glaring at Jaune.

"I suggest we move our search to the training arenas, I can see Ms Belladonna, Ms Nikos and Mr Lark coming this way," Goodwitch alerted them. "We don't need to tell them about our little project now, do we?"

"I'm just curious, Auntie, how did you manage to get Ozpin to forget about Yang's sister's death?" asked Jaune.

She smirked.

/-/

"…and so I faced the Dark Hydra, the stronger version of the Grimm called Hydra, with nothing but my underwear and my sharp intellect to back me up. The foul beast lunged at me and…"

"Please… stop… I forgot my own name… stop…"

/-/

The rhythmic ring of the hammer meeting the metal resounded in the forge.

Beacon's forge was a large building containing several forges. Each forge was equipped with a storage room for the materials, restocked every day, an armoury filled with weapons, a designing room for weapon designing, a testing room with dummies and target to try out the weapon, and finally the forge itself, filled with fine machinery and old-fashioned anvils and hammers.

In the middle of it all stood Jaune Soleil of the Arc Clan.

He was in his usual forging attire, that meant leather grey pants and no shirt. Usually, he would've worn a leather apron to shield himself from the heat, but his past experience and his newfound Aura made that unnecessary. So he stood shirtless, hammering on some gold-like metal he had taken from the weapon Yang called Crescent Rose and modified. He would need for it to fit his theme, after all.

Near the door stood several people. First of all was Glynda Goodwitch, who was smiling at her nephew's dedication. Beside her stood Jekyel D'Or of the Arc Clan, who similarly to the woman was proud of his descendant. Ren, Sky and Nora were all looking at him with vague interest, curious about his new weapon but most of all curious on how he had managed to get Yang out of her funk.

Beside them…

Beside them stood four more girls. Pyrrha Nikos, team leader of Team NBLS, who was still in her school uniform. Blake Belladonna, who had changed into her usual attire but still wore her bow, another member of NBLS. Weiss Schnee, proper and pristine heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, still somehow reluctant member of Team JWVL. And Yang Xiao Long, ranked third most beautiful girl in the school after Pyrrha and Weiss. The list was on looks alone, of course, not on attitude as well.

All of them were shamelessly ogling Jaune and blushing.

To tell the truth, he was quite the sight. Years of smithing and travelling had given him a toned physique, yet he wasn't a bulky bodybuilder like that Winchester guy of Team CRDS. The heat and work had also made him exert himself quite a bit, and the sheen of sweat on his skin had more than one of them swallowing dryly.

He finally lifted the target of his efforts and dipped it in the cold water, creating a cloud of steam that obscured him from view for a second. When it was sufficiently cooled off, he took it out of the water and placed it beside its twin on the table, looking at them in both awe and gratification. They were by far his best works, and he guessed they were decent by Huntsmen's standards as well.

Before him laid two twin sabres. The handle was wrapped in blue cloth, but otherwise the weapons' only colours were red, gold and silver. The long and slightly curved blades were golden with a silver sharp edge on the outer side, and red with a darker red sharp edge on the inner side. The pommel was made up of a single red point to use as a close-range small knife. To protect the blade Jaune had designed an elongation of the blade that went down the hilt and covered the hand. It was sharp as the blade itself and could be used to punch meanly.

The two sabres could also combine into a bow if needed, plus they also had a double-bladed sword mode in case he needed a two-handed weapon. Jaune had secretly added another mode to it, a scythe mode, since that was the weapon's original form, but it was far different from Crescent Rose's scythe and he wouldn't be using it soon: he would need quite a bit of training before he could fight with that…

He looked up from his works and toward them, somehow managing not to notice how some of the girls were looking at him. "It's done," he stated, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

Immediately, Yang was upon him. Since he wasn't wearing a shirt she could grab, she settled for grabbing his shoulders -not that she minded- and starting to shake him. "What are you waiting for?! Do it!"

"Do what?" asked Sky, confused. "Try it out?"

"No, not really," replied Jaune, trying to detach Yang. A purple glow surrounded the brawler and a second later she found herself floating.

"Huh?" She looked down. "I can fly?"

"No, Ms Xiao Long, you can't," stated Goodwitch. "I am merely keeping you from scrambling Jau-Mr Arc's brains. Mr Arc, you can proceed, swe-I mean, you may proceed, if you would."

Jekyel stepped forwards with a little smile. "Come on, Jaune, you can do it," he encouraged his descendant. "And after I'm gone ask Ms Goodwitch to help you training with that, you need it."

Jaune sighed and nodded, looking down at his new weapon. He had to name it first. "I'll call it…" He smiled. "Rubis Solaire."

"Solar Ruby?" translated Jekyel. He shook his head. "Well, it's fitting. I'm sure Yang appreciates."

"Yeah, yeah, I do," snorted the girl. "Now, can someone tell Professor Goodwitch to put me down?"

They ignored her. Jaune reached out with a hand and a smile before something registered. "Wait…" His hand froze. "What does `after I'm gone` mean?" he asked, turning to Jekyel with a frown.

The knight blinked in surprise before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I knew it, I had to screw up at the last second," he grumbled. "Could you just ignore what I said and go on?"

"Jekyel…"

"Fine, it's not like it's a secret." He pointed to Jaune's new weapon. "That's gonna be your weapon from now on. Your Semblance is linked to your weapon. Once you choose that as your weapon, Crocea Mors will stop being your weapon and your Semblance will stop affecting it."

Jaune froze. "That means you…"

"I will die again, yes," replied Jekyel, his bluntness shocking everyone in the room. Even Goodwitch lost her focus, dropping Yang onto the floor. "I've been there before. Sucks for a moment, yeah. I'm not afraid."

"But I-"

"Jaune." The older Arc grabbed his shoulders and forced him to turn and look at him. "Yang's sister was fifteen, almost sixteen, when she died. She still had a life full of happiness, adventure, emotions, friends and maybe family before her. She was robbed of all of that too young." His grip tightened. "I, on the other hand, have lived my life already. I even got to learn that my sacrifice was successful, and that we didn't die in vain. I got to learn that what I did saved so many people. That had been my only regret in death. I didn't know if I had done something or if the Northern League had eventually won. You gave me the chance to find out, but I don't _want_ a second life. This is not my time to live. My time ended with the War of Dust. Young Ruby died before her time, and if you don't do this she'll never have a second chance at life."

"But you…"

"Look at me, Jaune. Are these the eyes of someone who is afraid of death? Are these the eyes of someone who could live in this world?"

Jaune did just that. He stared into Jekyel's deep brown eyes and found the answer. The knight had seen too much war to fit in a world like the one they lived in. He had given his life for his people and he had woken up in a world where his sacrifice was something only found on history books. He belonged to the past, not to the present. Ruby, on the other hand…

His eyes dropped back to the sabres. He didn't know Ruby Rose. Yang had told him a little about her and she seemed a good person, but Jaune didn't know her. He took a deep breath and placed his hands on the weapons' handles.

Light erupted in the room, as Jekyel smiled one last time. Everyone covered their eyes as it burned bright, too bright for anyone to stand. Little by little it subsided, and they could see that Jekyel D'Or Arc was no more with them. Instead, standing before Jaune with a confused expression on her face, stood a short crimsonette with large silver eyes.

Ruby Rose was back.

 ** _Full Ruby scene, next chapter._**

 ** _I'm too tired to write anything else, plus this is the average size for Extension's chapters. Here it's past midnight and yet I'm tiring myself out for you... or rather to avoid your rocks and stuff. *drinks from his Thermos of tea*_**

 ** _Hope you liked this, because it wasn't easy to write it all today. I didn't rush it, but I did want to write it soon. I'm sorry for having remove Jekyel from the story, but 1) he was an interesting OC, but eventually an unnecessary OC. 2) what he said was true, and 3) writing him is harder than it looks._**

 ** _You can find a drawing of Rubis Solaire here, on my deviantart account: (EDIT: fuck you, FFN! I want this fucking link here!)  
_**

 ** _htt ps: (slash slash) www (d0t) deviant art (d0t) (slash) khorevis (slash) art (slash) Rubis-Solaire-765880524  
_**

 ** _Remove the all the numerous spaces (damn you, FFN) and replace the parenthesis, of course. Fuck you many times over, FFN... don't worry, you'll probably enjoy even it._**

 ** _And before I forget... I'd like to thank the user lordrednight for his help. He helped me come up with the name for this weapon. So lordrednight, if you're reading this, thanks!_**

 ** _Since there's nothing else to write... seen you soon!_**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	5. Ruby Rose

**_Oh, a chapter..._**

 ** _Okay, let's talk clearly. This sudden streak of chapters wasn't expected. I barely give you guys time to read a chapter and I'm already posting another one. EoS, EoS, ViewingTES, DSoG, and now EoS again... It's not something you can expect me to keep up. These days have been lucky and full of inspiration. I won't always be like this._**

 ** _Now that I've killed your mood, let me bring it back up with a chapter._**

"RUBY!"

Not even a minute into her second life, the small crimsonette was tackled to the ground by Yang and crashed onto the floor. The blonde girl brought a hand around Ruby's head to prevent her from banging her head against the ground, but otherwise didn't care for the whimpers of discomfort coming from underneath her. She was too happy to have her back.

Jaune barely had time to blink before a strong hand closed around his wrist and forced him to join the hug. Still shirtless, with soot and sweat covering him, he was enclosed in a hug from Yang while Ruby was pressed between the two, too dazed to register the presence of a third person in the death-tr… she meant hug. In the hug. Uncaring of all the dirt that was on the boy, Yang pressed a kiss on his cheek. "You saved her. You saved my little sister," she basically cried in joy. Jaune was a little lost, used to be kissed by blondes but not really used to being hugged with the strength of a Goliath, so he just tried to say it was nothing. "Nothing?! You gave us back _everything!_ When Dad gets wind of this he'll want to adopt you!"

"I kinda already have a family…"

"Bullshit! You'll be Jaune Soleil Arc Rose Xiao Long!" exclaimed the girl, finally releasing him and getting on her feet again. The smaller girl, Ruby apparently, had small Beowolves and stars spinning around her head. "Well, Jaune, this little adorable cinnamon roll is Ruby, my little sister. She goes to Signal at the moment and I guess she owes you a `thank you`!"

Jaune blinked again and finally focused on the still dazed Ruby. She was really adorable as Yang had said, although she was also kinda pretty. Not the prettiest girl he had ever seen but pretty. She was about five feet eight with a red and black themed outfit. She appeared to be his same age, maybe a little younger but not by much. Maybe Yang's family had adopted her? Or was she Yang's twin and very different sister? They weren't nine months apart in age, that much was sure. She had large silver eyes that, at the moment, were hazy and unfocused, but Jaune was really surprised by the colour. One of his sisters had grey eyes, but he knew that grey was just a rare variation of blue, but Ruby's were just silver, although without the coldness and hardness of the metal. She had shoulder-length dark red hair with lighter tips. He didn't know if the tips' colour was natural or not, but he didn't care much. He also noticed, much to his own embarrassment, that the chest part of her corset seemed to be pretty tight on her breasts, and he quickly looked away.

"I… I-It's a pleasure to meet you, Ruby," he said, offering a hand. "The name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."

His introduction was met with a snort from Weiss and a raised eyebrow from Blake and Sky, as well as Glynda shaking her head and sighing, but Yang seemed to agree. "You could be called Nghtuf Snfjhgt and I would still love that name after you saved my lil' sister," she stated, and Jaune blinked.

"You… like it? That's a first…"

/-/

Oblivious to all that ongoing dementia, Ruby finally regained her bearings.

Her first thoughts were of confusion. _'I… were am I? And where is Torchwick?_ _ **And where is Crescent Rose?!**_ _What happened?! Last I remember I was thrown back from that explosion and I hit a wall… Did I pass out? This doesn't look like a hospital, though. Also, why is Yang here but not Dad? And who are these people?'_ The newly reborn redhead looked around. _'Only an adult… the rest are teenagers. Ooooh, there's Pyrrha Nikos too, but is she doing in a hospital? Maybe she's on Yang's team in Beacon and she forced them to come and visit me?'_ The thought of Beacon saddened her for a second. She would need to wait two more years before she could attend it. That was so unfair! _'The girl in white seems really crabby, though. Maybe not coming to Beacon has had its positives: at least I'm not on a team with her. Bow girl seems really quiet, Ninja boy and Pink girl are opposites, and Grey hair guy seems pretty confused about something.'_

She then turned to Yang. _'Yang's always the same. Thankfully she's not suffocating me at the moment… just some other blond. Dad, maybe? No, Dad wouldn't let Yang do that…'_ True to her thoughts, Yang was currently hugging the life out of Jaune, who was rapidly turning as blue as his eyes. _'Then there's Jaune. Wait a second, how do I know his name? Have I met him before? No I haven't, I know I haven't, he just resurrected me but I haven't met him. Wait wait wait, resurrected? What am I thinking? I'd have to be dead in order to be resurrected and besides how could I know that?'_ She eyed Jaune a little more closely once a purple glow forcefully separated the two blondes. _'He's kinda nice with that messy hair. And from the way he is pouting at Yang he looks a bit dorky. Also, wow, I didn't know eyes could be that blue. Maybe that's his Semblance? Bluer eyes? No wait, his Semblance is not that. Wait, how do I know what his Semblance is? Also, wow, he's really toned, and kinda sweaty too. I don't really mind but he should take a shower. And why is everyone looking at me strangely?'_

"So… who is this?" asked Grey Hair Boy, gesturing to her. Ruby blinked and looked at Yang. She hadn't told them? Then why had she brought them along?

"Okay, guys… this is Ruby, my adorable little sister." Ruby pouted at that. And there she went, already relegated to the position of little kid. It always went like that. Yang would introduce her to some friends of hers, and immediately label her as the little one. She wasn't a little kid! She drank milk!

"Yang… just a question… is she adopted?" Jaune asked hesitantly. Ruby wanted to sigh. Only because they didn't look alike at all didn't mean they weren't sisters! Or, well, stepsisters. Half-sisters. Well, sister was still in the word! "Because, no offence… but she doesn't look much younger than you…"

Ruby blinked and looked at Jaune. In her mind, he had just been labelled BBF. Someone who finally didn't see her as a kid? That was new. And welcome. And fantastic. And… kinda depressing since it also reminded her everyone else did, but that was beside the point. The others, from Pyrrha Nikos to Bow Girl or Crabby White were still looking at her strangely, though.

"What do you mean she doesn't look much younger? She's fifteen!" _'I take offence in that. I'll be sixteen in October, thank you very much.'_ Jaune coughed and scratched the back of his head. He seemed to be kinda awkward as well as dorky…

"Well… I…"

"He's right, Ms Xiao Long. Your sister might be fifteen of age but in body, she has probably been aged a little," intervened Adult, whose name she had yet to catch. What she had just said was confusing, but also kinda interesting. A younger mind in an older body? Maybe that would make the others stop treating her like a kid… "Jaune's Semblance has the side effect to bring the resurrected one far closer to his own age. Remember that Sir Jekyel died well over forty, and looked barely past twenty when he was resurrected."

Resurrected? What they were talking about? Ruby looked at Jaune, whose name she still knew without knowing how she had learned it, who nodded meekly. Yang blinked and looked her over before sighing. "Okay, fine, at least she's back. We'll have to go shopping for new clothes though."

 _'New clothes…?'_ Ruby looked down at her clothes and froze. Now that she thought of it, her corset did feel a bit constricting. Kind of suffocating, even. She hadn't noticed. But her corset was made for her chest size, so why was it too tight? She actually had to loosen the lace that kept it closed to understand what Adult had meant by `aged a little`. She hurried to fasten the lace again with a flaming red blush on her cheeks.

"Ruby, please, introduce yourself, we'll explain everything later," Yang sighed. Ruby looked around before focusing on Jaune. Since he was the only one he knew the name of, she guessed he would be a good start.

"Hi Jaune, my name's Ruby!" She held out her hand and then blinked. Jaune still hadn't retrieved his hand from earlier, so there they were, both with their hands outstretched at different heights.

"Err…" Jaune lowered his own and took hers. His hand was warm, even hot, too much for it to be normal body heat. Ruby would know, she had Yang as her sister and Yang was basically a human stove, but Jaune's heat was too much for it to be normal. But as it appeared they were in a forge, maybe he had forged something earlier. That would've explained why he was so sweaty, too. "N-Nice to meet you, Ruby. I'm Jaune."

"Hi Jaune, I'm Ruby," she replied, shaking his hand. For a second they just stared at each other. "Uhh… nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too…" Jaune cleared his throat. "So… you're Yang's sister?"

"Yep. And you are… her new teammate?" Ruby's face scrunched up as she thought about it. "Yeah, teammate. I mean, you don't look cool enough to be her friend or boyfriend so you must be a teammate." Her eyes went wide. "I mean-no, I didn't mean it like that I… you _are_ cool, it's just… Yang doesn't befriend… I mean, she has certain standards that… not that you are under these standards, just…"

Jaune blinked before raising a hand to stop her. "Socially awkward?"

Ruby sighed. "Much."

"Same here," he grinned. "Just less cool."

She blushed at that. Not that she wasn't cool, but it was nice being called cool and not cute or childish for once. Yang had always been the cool one. "Although your weapon was kinda odd… I mean, not odd as in bad but odd as in… ehm…" He searched for the right word for a few seconds. "Unusual! Yeah, odd as in uncommon!"

Ruby snorted in amusement. Yep, socially awkward duo. That was confirmed. Onto the others… nope. No no no no no. She had a friend and that was enough. Besides, if he really was Yang's teammate -he hadn't confirmed it but it was clear he went to Beacon since everyone else seemed to have a weapon, and there were two sabres on the table that must've been his- then it meant she would lose him as soon as she had to go back. Although she was still curious as to how she had ended up in Beacon's forge from Vale.

Torchwick's explosion couldn't have sent her _that_ far, now could it have?

Nah.

"So, Ruby, these are my teammates Ski, P-Money and Blakey!" Yang exclaimed, gesturing to Grey Hair Boy -now Ski-, Pyrrha Nikos -that had probably been a nickname- and Bow Girl -now Blakey-, who hesitantly waved back. Then she turned to Crabby White, Pink Girl and Ninja Boy. "These are our friends Weiss-Cream-" "Hey!" Yep, crabby. "-, Smash and…" Yang looked at Ninja Boy, trying to come up with a nickname. "…Quiety?"

Ninja Boy sighed.

"I can't believe I have to do the introductions," huffed Crabby White. "Your sister's teammates are Sky Lark, Pyrrha Nikos and Blake Belladonna. These two are Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren, two of my teammates. And I am Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company."

Blake seemed to mumbled something under her breath.

"Oh, so you're Yang's friends?" Ruby asked, tilting her head on the side. "Because, you know, teams should be made up of only four people, right? I mean, on the news all the teams are made up of four people, so…"

"Yes, we are two teams," the boy called Sky explained with a sigh. "Yang, Pyrrha, Blake and I are Team NBLS, and Pyrrha's our leader. Weiss, Ren, Nora and Jaune are on Team JWVL, with Jaune being the leader. And she is Professor Glynda Goodwitch… _theoretically the Terror of the School…_ " he added in a whisper no one caught.

The woman seemed to be friendly, smiling at her and time and again glancing at Jaune, eyes filled with pride. Maybe she was his mother? She did have similar hair… Although no similar facial features. Her choice of clothes was kinda weird, all tight and fitting with a skirt that covered next to nothing and the odd purple cloak flowing behind her.

Sky Lark, Pyrrha Nikos, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Professor Glynda Goodwitch, Yang and Jaune.

Only one missing.

"Eh… okay, but guys?" she called out. "Where is Crescent Rose?"

/-/

Even after taking a shower, Jaune felt bad. He felt really, really bad.

Not because he was ill, mind him, he was perfectly healthy. He felt bad at having to watch Ruby being explained the whole affair. Understandably, she had been quite shocked to hear she had died, but just like Jekyel she had also been kinda accepting. Auntie Glynda had chalked it off as another side-effect of his Semblance. Preventing people from freaking out at the news of their own death was, to be honest, quite handy.

What his Semblance hadn't helped with had been explaining that Crescent Rose was no more or rather, that it wasn't hers any more. Hadn't Jaune modified his weapons, he would've gladly allowed her to use them, but he also kinda needed them to fight. Yang had mildly managed to cheer her up by reminding her that she would get to forge another one, but Jaune could understand the sentimental value the scythe had for the girl. He would've done it a thousand times to save a life, but he felt bad nonetheless. Seeing the girl begin to cry for her weapon had been heartbreaking. He would need to forge her a new one soon.

Another thing they had discovered was her Aura. Or rather, the effect the resurrection had had on her Aura. It was gone. Locked again. She could feel it inside her but she couldn't reach out to it. That explained the extremely ease with which she got a concussion, but that was also worrying. Did that mean Jekyel had tanked Yang's hits _without_ Aura? The doubts were sated when Goodwitch had stated that Ozpin had unlocked Jekyel's Aura six times over as they drank, each time forgetting he had already done so. Yang had almost unlocked Ruby's Aura again when the issue had come up, but she had been stopped by Weiss.

And that led to their current situation.

"Just let me do it, dammit! Every second she stays without Aura is a second she might die! Again!" shouted Yang, trying to get past Weiss, Ren and Nora, the latter being the only one to actually be actively holding her back. "She died once already, with Aura! I'm not letting her stroll around in Beacon without Aura!"

"I agree with you, Yang, but I don't think you should be the one to unlock her Aura," countered Weiss, relying on Nora to keep her from punching her out of the way. "There have been theories about the Unlocking ritual, and many experts suspect that there are variables in it, variables that could increase the Awakened Aura's potential if exploited intelligently."

"You must know a lot about exploiting," Blake grumbled under her breath.

"I am not aware of the whole theory, but I do know that the amount of Aura of the Unlocker is one of those variables." When Yang looked confused for a second, Weiss sighed. "The bigger, the better."

"Watch out, Weiss-Cream, you're small," the blonde shot back. "You have a limit to how much you can take. Wink."

Red tingeing her cheeks not in embarrassment but in rage, Weiss's eyes blazed. "How dare you! To behave like… like… like a lowlife harlot!" Ren placed a hand on her shoulder and she turned grey for a second. When colour returned, she took a deep breath, apparently calmed down. _'Uh, that's an interesting and useful ability,'_ thought Jaune. _'I must ask him to teach me…'_ "For your information, our leader is the one with most Aura out of all of us, so it would be wiser to allow _him_ to unlock your sister's Aura."

Everyone turned to Jaune. "Do you know how to unlock Aura?" Sky asked.

"Ehm… yeah, kind of… I mean, I've read how to make a chant but I've never really done it…" Jaune yelped when Weiss merely pushed him toward Ruby. Apparently she didn't know what `gentleness` meant.

"Try. Besides, it's not like you can harm her if you don't do it perfectly," she ordered.

 _'Like you did with me?'_ Jaune wanted to retort, but letting out that he had his Aura unlocked during Initiation wouldn't have been wise. "Ehm… okay… So, Ruby? Just… close your eyes and try to concentrate." She did just that and he placed a hand on her cheek and one on her chest, just above her breasts. He didn't miss her blush. _'And mind's out of the gutter,'_ he added sarcastically. Really, sometimes girls could be embarrassed by the minutest of things. He had lived with her sisters for years but he still remembered one time when he, five at the time, had walked in on his older sister, who was fifteen at the time, who had been mortified. That didn't make sense back then and it still didn't. They were siblings, and they had seen _him_ naked many times. He had just added being easily embarrassed to the _long_ list of strange things girls did and moved on.

" _For it is in choices that we find our path in Life. Through these we become a paragon of freedom and purity to defend our Light. Determined to protect and unafraid of Death I release your soul, and may my Light guide thee._ "

 _White_.

 _Silence_.

 _Something strong pulling him_.

 _Nothingness_.

 _And then_ … _terrible headache._

 _Jaune Soleil Arc Rose Xiao Long opened his eyes with a wince, the pain slowly fading. The first thing he noticed was that he was no more in Beacon Academy. He was somewhere else. Where, he couldn't tell for sure. Around him there were hills covered in verdant grass and beautiful red flowers. Around him there were several trees, all of them with foliage of a vibrant green. Everything around him was alive, but he couldn't hear any sound._

 _The second thing he realized was that he was naked as the day he was born. Strangely, the thought didn't bother him in the slightest. That was his soul, it was logical for his soul not to have clothes. Immediately he found out he knew what was happening. That was his soul. He was in Ruby's soul, or in the realm where her soul existed. The red flowers must've been probably roses._

 _He got up and looked around, trying to understand what to do next. In the books it never spoke of something like that._

 _Just like he had simply_ _ **known**_ _what was happening, he_ _ **knew**_ _the answer to his own doubt. His bond with Ruby was strong due to his Semblance having brought her back to Life. But if that was true, then what was he doing there? How could he unlock Ruby's Aura once again?_

 _He began to walk toward the spot where the trees seemed to diminish in number. He seemed to have ended up in a forest. He passed what seemed like a tombstone on a cliff, and felt something come from it. Going back to it, he knelt and read the name._

 _Summer Rose.  
Thus I kindly scatter._

 _Summer Rose. Who was she? Ruby's mom, probably. She was dead. Jaune felt sad for the girl, knowing how it was to lose a parent. He would've liked to leave a flower on the grave, but he didn't want to touch any of the flowers for fear of hurting Ruby's soul. Almost as soon as he thought that, in his hand shined a light. When it died down he saw a pure white rose without thorns. He thanked whoever had done that, be it Ruby's soul or his own, and placed it on the grave._

 _The entire world seemed to shudder for a second, and he feared he had done something wrong. Instead, nothing happened. After a few moments, he straightened and return to walk toward the clearing._

 _It was farther than he'd thought, as he only reached it a few minutes later. He could clearly see a fountain in the middle of the clearing, and there was a person laying beside it, naked just as he was. He recognized the dark red hair. Ruby. Or at least, her soul._

 _Having grown up surrounded by girls hadn't granted Jaune the ability to ignore the female body, but for the same reason he didn't feel bothered by his own bareness, it felt natural to see her without clothes. That didn't mean he would stare, though._

 _He walked up to her and knelt beside her, poking her cheek once. She appeared to be asleep._

 _"Apparently, awakening someone's Aura is a pretty accurate description," he thought, and he was surprised when his thoughts were said aloud in the otherwise silent clearing. "Of course… My thoughts are just the words of my soul, aren't they? But I still wonder why there is no sound here… no birds, no rustling of the wind through the leaves… nothing. But I guess that's not my place to find out. I have a girl… I mean, a soul to awaken."_

 _He looked at the water in the fountain. "Should I use that?" he wondered. "It does not appear dangerous. Besides, why would anyone have something dangerous where their soul rests?" He moved to fill his hands but his hand was grabbed by the still-sleeping Ruby, who nuzzled her head against it. "Apparently souls can be cuddlers too…" he thought with a deadpan. His sternness faded away the more he looked at her sleeping._

 _No, she looked too adorable, too angelic and most importantly too at peace to wake her up with water. He'd have to find another way._

 _"I guess pinching her awake is out for the same reasons, same for slapping or tickling," he thought. "Maybe it's time to try out what Mom used to wake me up? I'm not too sure how I feel about sharing her method but I don't have the heart to spray her with water. Also, that looks cold water so it'd be even worse. Let's try to use Mom's method…"_

 _He looked around for inspiration, but nothing came to mind. Nothing but his favourite song. He sighed. That would need to do. Besides, it was the only song he knew the lyrics of off the top of his head. He could've written those words even in the darkness. His mother had sung them for years, until he had begun to sing them himself. Looking back down at the sleeping girl… soul? Ruby. Looking back down at the sleeping Ruby, he began to sing, unaware that the entire world seemed to respond to his words and started singing with him._

 _"They see you as small and helpless,  
they see you as just a child,  
surprise when they find out  
that a warrior will soon run wild.  
Prepare for your greatest moment,  
prepare for your finest hour,  
the dream you've always dreamed  
is suddenly about to flower.  
We are lightning straying from the thunder,  
miracles of ancient wonder._

 _This will be the day we've waited for,  
this will be the day we open up the door.  
I don't wanna hear your absolution,  
hope you're ready for a revolution.  
Welcome to a world of new solutions,  
welcome to a world of bloody evolution.  
In time, your heart will open minds, a story will soon be told  
and victory is in a simple soul._

 _Your world needs a great defender.  
Your world's in the way of harm.  
You want a romantic life,  
a fairytale that's full of charm.  
Beware that the light is fading.  
Beware as the dark returns.  
This world's unforgiving.  
Even brilliant lights will cease to burn.  
Legends scatter. Day and night will sever.  
Hope and peace are lost forever._

 _This will be the day we've waited for,  
this will be the day we open up the door.  
I don't wanna hear your absolution,  
hope you're ready for a revolution.  
Welcome to a world of new solutions,  
welcome to a world of bloody evolution.  
In time, your heart will open minds, a story will soon be told  
and victory is in a simple soul."_

 _As the last words faded into silence, he felt Ruby starting to stir. At first it was just her hands gripping his own tighter and her face trying to snuggle closer to the source of warmth… could he still be considered source of warmth even without a physical body? Spiritual warmth, maybe? It didn't matter. Then she rolled over entirely and pressed her face into the ground as it were a pillow, but that too didn't work. Finally, she rolled again, returning to lay on her back, and stretched, letting go of his hand, yawning widely._

 _Jaune raised an eyebrow. Souls were really similar to the people they belonged to. He didn't know souls could yawn. Yet again, he didn't know unlocking someone's Aura could be something as complex as that. He could've gotten lost inside of Ruby… okay, that sounded very perverted but never mind, he didn't mean it like that. The world he had appeared in was somehow related to her soul, right? So he had been wandering inside Ruby's soul… or in the world where Ruby's soul resided._

 _As Ruby began to stir more, he felt something. Something strong was pulling him away just like it had pulled into her world. He tried to fight against it, but to no avail. Whatever was pulling him was stronger than anything he had ever fought before. Not even Yang would've been able to resist it… probably… and Yang was the strongest person he knew in terms of raw physical strength. He couldn't resist it, no matter how much he fought. He was being pulled away…_

 _A hand closed around his wrist. Blue met silver. "Stay."_

 _The pulling stopped, and everything went white._

 ** _No I'm not gonna tell you what Ruby did. Or rather what her soul did. Or what the effects will be (if there'll be effects... frankly I haven't planned it yet)._**

 ** _So... what happened? Let me explain: that (minus the "stay" part) is what usually happens to souls when one unlocks (or awakens) another's Aura. Why did Jaune live it personally? Because his Semblance is linked to Ruby. His Semblance is the manifestation of his Aura, his Aura is the manifestation of his soul. Follow the line, Ruby is linked to his soul. So he could see what happened._**

 ** _No romance yet, I'll tell you when it starts._**

 ** _I hope you liked!_**

 ** _Next chapter will be telling the peers about Jaune's Semblance... while also withholding vital (Vytal?) information._**

 ** _Next chapter: Coming Out._**

 ** _I have chapter titles planned up to Ch17._**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh._**


	6. Coming Out

**_Okay, here is the chapter. Longer AN at the end, just let me say this: I don't know what's gotten over me. I am writing non-stop, and the ideas just keep coming. Is that good? Well... yes. Is it strange? Hell yes. Anyway, on with the chapter..._**

Jaune Soleil Arc Rose Xiao Long winced at his headache, and then opened his eyes.

The pain fading as soon as it had come, the first thing he thought upon opening his eyes was _'Silver blue.'_

He blinked the surprise out of his system, and analysed the situation more closely. He and Ruby were in the same position as before, with his right hand on her chest and the other on her cheek. And they were still just a foot or so apart. But something had indeed changed. Ruby's right hand was holding his left wrist, while her left one was on his chest, although she wasn't leaning onto him.

Also, there was the small detail they were different.

His first thought was made clear as he met Ruby's eyes, formerly silver, now dichromatic. Her right eye was still silver, but her left one was now of a sapphire shade he had only seen in the mirror. Plus she also had several golden locks in her hair. They weren't blond, they were _golden_ , and again he had only ever seen such a shade in the mirror. It made him wonder how he looked like. Yet again, his metallic blond hair colour contrasted quite nicely with her dark hair. And his blue eye went along quite well both with her silver one and with her red tips.

Ruby too shared his own first thoughts, although her own was the opposite. _'Blue silver,'_ was the first thing that came to her mind as she opened her eyes. And it was pretty accurate. Jaune was still basically a full head taller than she was, but he had changed during the Aura Unlocking. She had felt it too. She had felt herself wake up and she had seen him. He had seemed to be fading so she had tried to grab him… only for white to flash before her eyes. She had asked him to stay, not to leave her all alone, but she didn't know what had happened after that.

Jaune's eyes were no more blue. Or rather, his right eye still was bluer than blue, but his left one was silver, a colour she'd ever seen only in the mirror. As well, his hair had changed, no more just golden. She could see locks of black hair fading into red to the tips among his gilt hair. Okay, to be honest, her hair looked quite fitting amongst gold. Stood out a lot. And her eye looked quite nice paired with his impossibly blue one. Her silver would've looked quite nice paired with any colour but that blue was just so deep it created a nice contrast.

A familiar clearing of throats jolted them from their trance.

They both startled, separating immediately, and looking at Weiss -of course it had been her-, who was glaring at them with her arms crossed on her chest. _'Near inexistent chest,'_ both of them thought with a little of scorn. Really would it have killed her to just shut up for ten minutes straight?

"Well? What are you doing now? The ritual is complete," she huffed. "A boy and a girl staying so close is not proper manners." She ignored Yang as she proclaimed just how little she cared about manners, and instead observed them a little more closely. "Wait, what happened to your eyes and hair?"

"You noticed too?" asked Jaune, scratching his chin. "It's strange and I'm pretty sure it wasn't supposed to happen… I mean, otherwise all of us would have weird hair and eyes…"

"No, that wasn't supposed to happen," sighed Weiss. "Really Arc, how could you somehow mess up even a simple Aura Ch-argh!" Everyone just blinked as the heiress was flung aside by a mighty punch, the force behind it so great she almost left an after-image as she went flying. Everyone blinked and stared at the blonde brawler grinning at them.

"Sorry, you don't insult family," she stated cheekily as Weiss got up, fuming and _extremely_ furious. "And before you ask yes, Jaune _is_ family now. He's a Rose Xiao Long."

"You can't just adopt someone through sheer willpower, you moronic brute!" Weiss screeched at her, and Ruby cringed as she glanced at Jaune. Jaune sighed and nodded. Ruby cringed more. "And you can't just stroll around, punching people out of the blue!"

"To tell the truth, I was punching you _into_ the blue of the sky," Yang winked before her smile dried up and she stared Weiss down. "But now listen, buttless nil-chested brat, 'cause I really don't want to say this twice. Aside from the shrillness of your voice giving me a headache, I've had enough of your attitude already, and it's just been an hour or so since I `got to know you`. Jaune is now my honorary brother, I don't give a damn about laws about adoption, and you've been a bitch to my honorary brother ever since… day one, if what Nora told me is right." Nora `subtly` feigned innocence by starting to whistle far too loudly for anyone. "So now you're gonna remove that pole you got up your rear and start acting like a person, and not like a bitch! And Ruby…" Ruby slightly leaned away from Yang's glare. "Forget I ever said the word `bitch`."

Weiss wasn't impressed. "I wasn't _insulting_ him, I was stating the truth! The ritual is completely safe. All that could happen is for it to just fail. You `honorary brother` managed to mess that up, somehow!"

"Well, to be honest, they look so cute with those changes I'd say he managed it even better!" grinned the blonde before rounding on the others. "I can call them cute 'cause they are my brother and sister. If I hear any of you calling them cute I'll pulverize your backsides." Everyone nodded and she turned to Weiss again. "So, now that I've made that clear, Weiss… come with me."

"Wh-Wait! What are you doing?!" Weiss trashed and flailed as Yang grabbed her by the collar and dragged her away, into the courtyard, leaving the others to awkwardly stare at each other in silence. "Release me, you savage!"

Heedless to her protests, Yang dragged the heiress deeper into Beacon's grounds, until there was no one else within earshot. Then she turned to her and her grin fell entirely. "Okay Weiss, you can cut the act, tell me what's wrong and what got you upset," she commanded firmly.

Weiss glared at her with frost. "Upset?! You just-"

"Weiss, I said _cut the act_ ," Yang repeated, and this time her words were hard. "I am an older sister and I've basically grown Ruby on my own as her mother. I know how to spot when someone is upset, I know how to spot a lie and I know when something is wrong. We aren't friends, that much I know, but Jaune has just jumped to the top of my list of friends, and you are giving _him_ trouble with this attitude of yours. So, instead of trying to punch it out of you, I'm trying to go for the more efficient route and eradicate the root of the problem." She crossed her arms over her considerable chest and repeated her first words. "So, Weiss, what is the problem? What's your bone to pick with Jaune? Or is it even really with him? It's been not even a damn week, it's kinda hard to get to hate someone in just a week. I know you're kind of a bitch on your own but even then you must have a reason to be a bitch. So, I want to know what's the point. So I can just uproot it now and solve the issue forever so to spare my new brother from your temper."

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Your speeches are as empty as your head," she huffed, and moved to get away. Yang merely raised an eyebrow before she shoved Weiss into a tree and pinned her there. Although she had to lean back to avoid suffocating her in her own cleavage. "You _ummppppfff_ -ecent, lewd brute! What are you doing!?" Weiss exclaimed with a fierce blush on her cheeks.

"Just keeping you here in case you try to escape, and before you shriek just how indecent I am, you're the one with your face shoved in my breasts." Yang grinned wolfishly at her. "Besides, no one comes here. I used this place as a spot where to cry in peace for the last four days. So we can talk without being disturbed. And before you start to worry about me raping you I'm sorry but you're not my type. I prefer my girls to be handled by someone who doesn't have a Weiss-icle three feet up her ass."

"You-"

"Yes, yes, my language is coarse beyond belief, I am shamelessly using my own endowed curves to trap you here, and I am a whore at best," Yang blah-blah-blah'd nonchalantly, waving a hand in the air. "You still haven't answered my question."

"You are kind of blocking my airways!"

"Would you answer my question truthfully if I just released you?" asked the blonde. Silence was her answer. "I knew it. You're too cold and harsh to just tell the truth, aren't you? Too cold and harsh to tell the truth… even to yourself. I bet even you don't know why you did that. Am I right?"

Weiss tried to push her off, but Yang was easily four or five times stronger than the girl in white. "Of course I know! Arc is an incompete- _ummmpppppfffff!_ "

"Nope, that's not the truth and we both know it." Yang looked down at the fuming girl and sighed. "Okay, bold, frontal approach doesn't work. Let's try with emotional." She grabbed the girl and forced her to sit down on the grass. "So… let me talk a little before you start screeching, okay? Just hear me out. Even just to prove you're the better woman."

Weiss scoffed and crossed her arms. "You'd better make it quick."

"Now, I know perfectly well what's your view of me. Boisterous, a party girl, `indecent` as you put it, oblivious to others' privacy, an all around jokester and teaser, an airhead, a hothead, and all that, right?" Weiss slowly nodded her agreement. "Well, then let me tell you: you're wrong. You oh so wrong and you don't even know it. Wanna know why? Because you look at me only skin-deep and you don't even bother to try and find out what's underneath." Yang frowned. "I'll tell you what's underneath. Oh, don't worry, I'm not going down the `let's reveal everything about each other` route. I'm just telling you what you missed. Jaune has known me for… what? Three non-consecutive days max? And yet he knows I'm not all what I mentioned. Mind me, he's still far from knowing who I really am, but that's a start. But you? You've looked at me, at everyone of us, and you've built yourself nice little mental images. I'm the whore, Jaune's the fool, Ren's the mute, Nora's the airhead, Blake's the introvert, Sky's the unsure pseudo-leader of NBLS, and Pyrrha is perfection incarnate."

Weiss opened her mouth to reply, but Yang beat her to it. "Nope, nope, nope. I said listen. Well, you got it all wrong. I'm not gonna tell you about the others because you need to find out on your own, but I will tell you about me." She looked at the trees around them. "Who am I? Well, first of all I am an older sister. I don't know if that means anything to you, but to me it means I'm someone who cares for others. As of now my team and I aren't all that close, just roommates, but I know that one day I'll be everyone's fun big sis. I know I can be a hothead, sure, but I can think too. And I _can_ feel negative emotions, I'm not just a trigger-happy girl who's always cheerful. And I know when to leave space to others… but I also know that _everyone_ doesn't want to be left alone at all times. So I'm always present." Yang picked up a stone and threw it strong enough to dent a tree's bark. She ignored Weiss's flat stare. "Among my _many_ skills and talents, I know how to talk with people. Not just talk, I know how to spot the problem in someone and I know how to solve it… most of the times. I have experience. And right now I'm telling you that I'm not gonna let you go until I've solved your problem, because your problem is gonna give problems to my friends and family. This is who I am. A friend, a sister, a Huntress and a person. Not just some harlot with more curves than she needs."

Weiss continued to glare at her, and Yang glared back. "You are not my friend nor my sister. Honestly, you're not even someone I'd like to spend time with. Maybe you will in the future, but that day is not today. This attitude of yours is giving trouble and pain to someone I actually care about, so I'm gonna solve the problem." She poked Weiss's forehead. "And _this_ is the problem. So now, knowing what you know, knowing who I am, and knowing you're not going anywhere until I get some answers, are you going to tell me what the hell is wrong?"

Weiss scoffed and looked away. Yang scoffed too and crossed her arms. They stayed like that for what felt like hours. At some point Yang even had to send the others a message to reassure them they were alright, since Weiss refused to move a finger. Minutes trickled by, and so did Weiss's patience. Her stare turned into a frown and then into a full scowl as her hands clenched. Yang merely watched her in silence, waiting for her to crack. The blonde had experience dealing with the silent treatment. Ruby used it to win all arguments when she was little, so Yang was pretty used to it, but Weiss wasn't. Sure, she had practised her polite silence many times over, but she wasn't at an upper-class party. She was sitting on grass -that was staining the backside of her dress, if she had to tell the truth- and she had her back to an extremely annoying blonde, who despite all her boisterousness was easily keeping up with her silence without uttering a world. On the other hand, Yang was actually amused and kinda impressed she had lasted so long. Ruby usually cracked after just a handful or so minutes, while Weiss held on for almost an hour before she finally gave up.

With a heavy sigh, she turned to face Yang.

"You really aren't going to let this slide, are you?" Her only answer was a cheeky grin, and she sighed again, already regretting her relenting. "I won't go into detail, but my family is… inconsistent. My parents basically hate each other. My sister fled the house and joined the military as soon as she could. And my brother is an unbearable brat who thinks to be so important just because our family is rich. All what I received from my family was disappointment and paid lessons. My training is near-perfect in all areas of being a Huntress. My votes are near-perfect in all classes. My combat skills are perfected to an extreme. I am the epitome of the model student, and yet… the moment the teams are formed, I find myself bypassed by a nobody who-"

"Okay, this is honestly horseshit and you know it," Yang interrupted her, waving her hand in the air. "Training means nothing in leadership. I mean, a leader is someone who can _lead_ , not just the strongest of the team. That's why I think Ozpin made a mistake in making P-Money the leader." She halted Weiss's protests with a hand. "Nope, I'm not taking that shit. Pyrrha is a nice… kinda… person but she is not genuine with her team, and she doesn't even attempt to try and get to know us. Heck, she doesn't even say stuff like `let's get to class` or anything, how can we expect her to be team leader? Plus she's completely unused to fighting with people since in her tournaments she's only ever fought on her own. Sky would've been better, or me. And I'm not talking out of arrogance here. So, what you said is stupid. The strongest is not the leader. The leader must care for their-"

"How?"

"-team and… wait, what?" Yang blinked as Weiss sighed, this time sounding infinitely more tired.

"How? How can you accept people as different and… odd… as them? I've been going insane living with Valkyrie and Arc, and I'm not even the one who handles all her shenanigans." Weiss raised her hands as if to try and gesture something, but after a second of just looking at them, she let them fall again. "I-I mean… this is _not_ what I've been trained for! I know Huntsmen and Huntresses are just people but… I expected a bit more _maturity_ by the students! Instead, I find children!"

"Weiss, maturity can be shown in many, many ways. Like being ready to save a little girl you don't even know just because her death was hurting someone else you didn't know either. Why? Just to do some good. Is it being childish? Maybe, but I think it's a sign that Jaune is gonna become a good Huntsman one day." She crossed her arms and stared at Weiss. "But you haven't been mature, either. You've been as childish as you say they have."

"Uh?"

"You stomped your feet and got angry. Petty. Scorned. Whatever. You were childishly trying to get the others to do what you wanted without even trying to do it yourself." The blonde grabbed Weiss's arm and forced her to turn and face her. "You want to be `mature`? Well, grow up. Instead of just getting exasperated every time Nora messes something up, face her and talk it out with her. Explain it to her that she can't just make things explode for fun. Maybe she will still do it, but at least you will have tried. Take Jaune aside and tell him how you think he could improve, both as a leader and a student. Ask Ren to help you talk things out with Nora. And that's just speaking about your team. Use that maturity you say you possess and work on making the others mature. If you don't want to `lower yourself to their level`, well then it's time to work to bring _them_ up to _your_ level. But not by forcing them. By offering actually helpful advice."

Weiss scoffed. "From you of all people I should take advice?"

"Yes, just to start demolishing those walls of arrogance you built up around you," nodded Yang, ignoring her sarcasm. "And take it from someone who's used to giving pep talks: the sooner you start, the better. Don't try to overdo… just start. The first step's always the hardest, but after that it's much easier."

Yang got up and started to walk away, but she stopped when she heard a mumble behind her. "What was that, Weiss-Cream?" she grinned.

"Don't call me that," growled the girl. "I just said thanks."

"Ah ah ah ah…" She waved a finger in the air with a disapproving mock frown. "I told you to start~"

Weiss sighed and rubbed her forehead in annoyance. "Yang, that nickname is unpleasant and I honestly dislike being called that, instead preferring to be called by my normal name, that is Weiss. I can understand you like puns and my name _does_ offer opportunities for said puns, but I find it vexing, especially since you use them all the time." She thought about it for a second more. "Or at least, if you really can't help yourself, try not to use them continuously, for my sake."

Yang smiled an honest smile. "No problem, Weiss."

/-/

When Professor Goodwitch stepped onto the stage in Combat Class, everyone knew she was about to make a statement.

Especially nine people.

Six of them were pretty chill about it. Blake didn't really care one way or another, and it was only because she feared the scary Professor's wrath -despite having also seen her softer side- that she hadn't just opened her books and started to read. Pyrrha… she was hard to read, so it would've been difficult to tell if she was interested or not, or if she really cared about the topic. Sky was vaguely interested, but he was mainly content that Yang's problem -and thus Team NBLS's- had been solved, even if in a… unconventional way. Usually, getting over the loss of a loved one didn't require the resurrection of said person. On Team JWVL, Weiss was mainly just silent, not giving any of her thoughts away. Ren and Nora were silent too, both with grim frowns on their faces, especially the boy. Having learned that their leader's Semblance wasn't as powerful as they had thought had been reassuring, but Ren couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if he had asked Jaune to resurrect his father. Maybe Jaune wouldn't have resurrected Ruby, and all of that wouldn't have happened. He felt horrible as he realized that deep down, a part of him regretted not asking him, despite the fact that doing so would've probably doomed the girl.

Three other people, instead, weren't really happy. Yang's eyes had remained red ever since Goodwitch had explained the plan to them all, and her temper had stayed very unstable for the whole day, as an unfortunate student had had the pain to find out. Ruby was wearing an expression that was halfway between pouting and frowning. And Jaune was doing exactly what he always did whenever he was annoyed at his aunt: he sat rigidly, his arms crossed on his chest, and looked straight into Goodwitch's eyes, daring her to call him out on his stubbornness. Normally, that was something she never failed to do, but that day she had other things to do, and to say.

"Students, before ending this class, there is something very important you need to know, regarding one of your peers's Semblance and how it works," she began confidently. "You will be able to ask questions after the explanation."

She pointed at their seats with her crop. "Just recently, Mr Arc-"

"Arc Rose Xiao Long," Yang muttered under her breath.

"-has discovered his Semblance. We all know what Hunters say about their weapons: they are extensions of their wielders. Mr Arc's Semblance is closely related to this link, and this is why we decided to call it Soul Extension." She waved down some questions as she continued. "We still do not know the full range of Mr Arc's Semblance, but we do have some insight on it. As you can see, we now have a new student, Ms Ruby Rose." Many students turned to look at the small crimsonette, who just fidgeted a little and waved back. "In many ways, she is Mr Arc's Semblance. His Semblance links his soul to his weapon, and creates an Avatar for said weapon. We aren't sure about the details, but we noticed that different weapons create different Avatars. The man known as Sir Jekyel D'Or Arc was Mr Arc's first Avatar, created by linking his Semblance to his family sword Crocea Mors. His current Avatar, Ms Rose, is instead linked to his new weapon, Rubis Solaire, a weapon he forged on his own and thus unrelated to his family." She sighed as people started to shout questions, but she held on. "As I said, we still aren't sure of its full powers, but let me fill you in on what we know about these Avatars."

She gestured at Ruby, who was slightly slumped in her seat. "As you can see, Ms Rose here does not act like a robot or an Aura golem," she explained. "Instead, she has a personality of her own, completely unrelated to Mr Arc's. She also appears to possess Aura, although we have deducted for it be just an effect of Mr Arc's Semblance. As far as we know, she acts, thinks and lives like a normal human, and I request for you to treat her as such. Any mistreatment toward her will be handled like a mistreatment toward any other student, and as such punished." Her sternness had more than a student shrinking slightly. "Any question?"

"Where will it be housed?" asked a student from the rows below, a green-haired boy who used bladed fans as weapons. He was Oryn Lily, the `O` of Team MTOR, Meteor. Knuckles cracked as Yang rose from her seat, flames burning bright. Jaune's frown only intensified while Ruby just looked sadder.

"Where will _she_ be housed, Mr Lily," Goodwitch corrected tensely. "As Mr Arc's Avatar, she will be housed in Team JWVL's dorm. She will eat with their team in the cafeteria and sit beside them in class. We will provide a weapon for her to use, and she will be added to Beacon's Database, thus making her a student herself. She will receive the proper documentation soon, but let me announce this beforehand: Ms Ruby Rose is, from this moment, officially a student at Beacon Academy for Hunters."

Another student raised her hand. She was Gwen Crow of Team RGGE, a crow Faunus with dark grey hair and black eyes. "Does `she` have a soul?"

Goodwitch met the eyes of the three students. Yang narrowed her eyes so much her irises couldn't be seen any more, her fists clenching tightly and destroying the armrests. That was pretty understandable, despite what she had hoped. Ruby was just looking down dejectedly, her entire posture screaming defeat. But it was Jaune's reaction what hurt her most. The boy, who had always _adored_ his aunt, was now glaring at her with disapproval and disappointment. She would need a glass of something strong later, she knew that, but she soldiered through. Despite how much it hurt her students, and her, the students had to be told something. Her lie wasn't a nice one, but it was also the only one that would've worked without damning Jaune's and Ruby's existence.

She turned back to the students. "No, she does not."

 ** _Ouch. That really hurts._**

 ** _Before you swarm me with the question, yes she does have HER soul. Let me explain who Ruby is. Do you remember Pyrrha's death? I know, I'm reminding you of a painful episode but all this is based off an idea from that. After she died, her body turned into dust and was swept away. Now, everyone says Cinder did it... but are we sure?_**

 ** _Let me explain. Cinder was touching her DIADEM, not her skin... plus Cinder's eyes WEREN'T glowing. So Cinder did NOT incinerate (the irony... is not funny, actually) Pyrrha, so here's my idea: if Aura (soul) can come into the world of the body to protect it, then why can't the body follow the soul when the person dies?_**

 ** _So Jaune, bringing Ruby back, also brought her body back, so Ruby is completely Ruby. Just resurrected. If I were to use a Dungeons &Dragons reference, Jaune basically cast True Resurrection (hell yeah!) on her. So Ruby is NOT, in any way, different from how she was in her "first life"._**

 ** _Everything the students might think is WRONG. WRONG WRONG WRONG! Don't forget this, or be prepared to be considered morons if you ask about it later. And thus a romance between Ruby and Jaune would be normal. What could happen is a Hero Worship Syndrome, but we'll take care of that later on._**

 ** _Romance Status: Not Started Yey. I'll tell you when it'll start. Trust me, I'm as eager for it as you are._**

 ** _Next chapter: Clouding the Sun. Uh-oh, that's ominous. What could it possibly mean? Well... let's just say that bullism did happen in canon, so why not? (why? because I'd really like not to write it, but it's necessary for the story, plus gives depth to it)_**

 ** _And finally... Yang's talk. Who would've expected her to be so wise? Me, to be honest. And others. So... Weiss IS indeed a bitch, but not just because she's cold. She also does not know how to handle people, relies on first impressions, and demands for the others to be "mature". She'll get better, it's just a temporarily illness called bitchiness._**

 ** _So... leave a review and tell me what do you think! Or, you know, just don't and enjoy the rest of your day. *wink*_**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	7. Clouding the Sun

**_Oh, look, the chapter is ready. And I actually got lost playing Adventure Story (cute little platform game) for two hours today. I can't get past level 19, dammit, but that does not matter. Anyway... what can I say, on with the chapter, right?_**

Ruby woke up slowly.

If she had to be honest, despite her speed and general energy, she had never been a morning person. An early riser… maybe, occasionally, if she had no other choice. But never a morning person. Ironically, coffee made the situation worse in the morning. No, what she needed in the morning was milk. She opened her eyes and glanced at the nightstand without even thinking that she wasn't home any more, and that Yang hadn't brought her some milk to wake her up.

A glass of milk.

She blinked and drank it without complaints, not knowing why it was there but happy it was. Then she looked around and mentally took note of her first morning of her second life. Put like that it was really cool, but hell if it didn't shake her. She had died. She had tried to do some good and died. Just like that. And not even in an epic fight for the protection of the innocents, she died breaking her neck against a wall, vainly trying to stop Vale's most wanted. A stupid wall, that's what had killed her.

Huddling up into a ball on the bed, Ruby sighed. She had really died, uh? Yang had sent a message to their father and he was coming down as soon as he could, that meant she would probably see him before classes. Alas, that was not what worried her. She had hurt them by dying. Hadn't Jaune brought her back, she would've died for real and no amount of prayers would've worked. She had just been lucky Jaune had unlocked his Semblance and it had turned out to be that resurrection-like thing. She was alive for mere luck.

Luck was something she knew very well. She had always been lucky. It wasn't the kind of luck Yang cursed whenever Ruby landed a hit on her. It was… at the same time subtler and more obvious. She been lucky to have Uncle Qrow personally teach her how to fight while most Hunters in training had to go to school. She had been horrible before he started to teach her, using what little free time he had away from missions. And she had been lucky the man had also managed to get her some high-quality metal for Crescent Rose, again something not everyone could afford.

Most people worked hard for skills. Their percentage was around ninety percent work and ten percent luck. Hers was more of a fifty fifty. Even her Semblance had been a lucky revelation: everyone knew that the faster the fighter is, the better it is. Although she wasn't really sure if that had been luck or her personality to have shaped her Semblance.

But that last event… It was like all the luck in the world had converged on her. She had been reckless and had gotten herself killed. Not even a week later, she was back because a boy she didn't even know existed had discovered an unheard-of-before Semblance that had brought her back. And again, said boy had used his Semblance on her because he just so happened to live across the corridor from Yang and thus could hear her cries, and his previous Avatar wanted to die and jumped to the chance. All it had costed her had been Crescent Rose, and even if she loved the weapon dearly, she knew it was a miserable price to pay for a second shot at life.

For the first time in both her lives, she wondered if her Semblance was really speed, or if it was luck.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She jumped as a voice tore her from her musing. Glancing up, she tilted her head at the sight she was met with. Jaune was standing there in his uniform. But why was Jaune there? Wasn't she home? No, she wasn't, but then who had put the milk on the nightstand? "Something's on your mind?"

"Why are you here?" she asked without thinking.

He blinked. "Well, this is kind of my team's dorm…" he explained, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Aunt Glynda said you would sleep on our dorm, remember?"

Aided by the milk and Jaune's words, her memory finally rebooted. "Oh, yes I do. I was just… thinking." She looked around for the other blonde. "Where is Yang?"

The previous evening, there had been a lot of arguing on Weiss's part about the beds. Yang hadn't wanted to just leave Ruby alone, at least not on her first day there, and thus JWVL's dorm had become pretty cramped. Jaune had taken the floor with no problems, offering for Ruby and Yang to take his bed. But Yang, much to Ruby's embarrassment, had refused because… apparently, Ruby was a fierce cuddler. Jaune had laughed it off and taken out more blankets and pillows for her, saying he knew what she meant since he had sisters as well. But now that she looked around, she couldn't see the blonde girl anywhere.

Jaune reassured her with a shrug. "Dunno. She prepared a glass of milk for you, forbade Nora to drink it, and left. I think she went to call her father again, this time about my 'adoption' into the Rose Xiao Long family. My team went with her." He rolled his eyes and sat down on the bed beside her. "But, my question still stands. Is there something on your mind?"

Ruby gave him a one-shoulder shrug. "Kind of. Just thinking that… I've been lucky you unlocked your Semblance when you did."

"Eh, kind of," nodded the boy, making her sigh. "I mean sure, it was lucky. But maybe it wasn't. Do you really believe in luck?"

"Well, yeah… and that was just lucky…" she argued. "I mean, I got resurrected by someone I didn't even know just because you kind of knew my sister. If that's not luck I don't know what it is…"

"Eh, luck is something people use to cover everything they don't think of. My mother had a saying about luck and bad luck: 'When you look into it, it disappears. When you don't look at it, it comes back'." He tried to imitate his mother's voice and failed miserably, but at least she chuckled a little. At his expenses, but it was better than melancholic. "If you don't look into it and just dismiss it as luck, well then of course it exists. But if you look into it, then it's just a series of cause-effect processes."

"But what-"

"It wasn't luck. Why did I end up meeting Yang? Because our teams returned one after the other from Initiation, and thus we got consecutive numbers for our dorms. Why did I have such a Semblance? Well, that's harder because we don't know much about it. But if we follow the personality rule then it makes sense." He gestured as he spoke, although Ruby couldn't quite relate the gestures to the words. "Why did I unlock it a week ago? Well, Aunt Glynda says that a Semblance is active ever since you unlock your Aura, but you just have to discover what it does. In my case, my Semblance 'activated' by resurrecting one of my ancestors. Again, I haven't mentioned luck…"

"But for all those events to happen…" began Ruby, but he pushed a pair of dice into her hands. "Er… what?"

"Throw them. Dice are the very symbol of luck so let me demolish your belief about dice." She shrugged and threw the dice. A three and a five were her results. Not bad, if she had to be honest. Then Jaune picked them up and threw them. "Six and five," he said, and true to his words the dice landed with those faces turning up. He threw them again. "Five and five. Four and three. One and one. One and six. I can do this all day, if you want. Six and four. Six and six." He predicted one last time before he moved the dice aside and into a drawer. "So, am I lucky?"

"How did you do that?" exclaimed Ruby. "Can you teach me?!"

Jaune chuckled. "I played lots and lots of games with my family. They stopped playing with me after I learned how to cheat the die throwing. But that's not the point. What you saw was skill, and minute details no one ever looks into." He held out an empty hand and mimicked the throwing of a die. "How you move your hand, how much strength you put into it, how close you are to the landing surface… eh, I could mention all the irregularities on the surface of the die or of the landing spot, but that would be too long." He smirked at her. "Am I a wizard? Nah. It's just that luck doesn't exist. People use that word to describe everything they can't think an explanation of. Either luck, or magic. Magic… eh, I'm not too sure, my family has always believed in fairies and legends, but luck? Nah. So your resurrection was not luck, just a series of cause-effect processes you don't know about."

Ruby giggled at his antics, her fears a little toned down. "You know Jaune, you should try the career of comedian, you'd do great."

"Please, this guy here is no joke!" he countered, jabbing a finger into his chest. "I'll let you know that I'm gonna become a great Huntsman!"

"Oh, yes, and when you can't defeat a Grimm you'll challenge it at dice, and cheat your way out of it," she shot back with a grin.

He shrugged. "You use what you can," he replied before sobering up. "So, feeling up to go down to the airship docks to greet your-"

"RUBY!"

Only Ruby's incredibly fast reflexes saved him from being trampled by the blond man who had just _ran through_ the door, followed by a man with black hair and red eyes. The girl pushed him off the bed just as the first man entered his personal space, sending him tumbling to the ground. Then had sacrificed herself for him. Immediately, the two men took hold of her, one checking her over while the other tried to suffocate her in a hug.

Jaune smiled as he left the room, heedless to Ruby's pleas for help, leaving the little Rose to her family reunion. But just as he walked through the Ruby's-father-shaped hole in the door, he was met with lilac eyes, whose owner was determined to do one thing.

"Ah no, Jauney, you're part of the family now, remember?" Yang Xiao Long grinned. "It's time for a family reunion. I'm pretty sure Dad already has the documents ready for the adoption."

Jaune Arc -soon to be Arc Rose Xiao Long- sighed as he turned to meet his fate.

/-/

"Look, it's _her_."

"I've heard she's not even an Avatar, she's just a student who sneaked in to attend Beacon."

"Besides, what kind of Semblance would create a person?"

"That's not a person, idiot, that's an _object_."

"But the Professor said she acts and thinks like a human…"

"Please, that's a _thing_ the guy created with his Semblance."

"She seems a bit down, can she even feel emotions?"

"She is kinda cute, maybe I could give her a shot."

"I've heard Yang Xiao Long treats her as a sister, better not to mess with her."

Ruby sighed at the umpteenth far-too-loud whisper. Embarrassing, offensive, curious, or just plain-out hostile comments had been whispered around since the moment she had entered the cafeteria for breakfast, together with 'her' team and her sister's team. She quietly walked back to her new friends' table and sat down between Jaune and Sky, their teams having mixed up a little, trying to go as unnoticed as he could. Her father and uncle had gone to meet Ozpin to discuss for what to do. Qrow had almost fainted at seeing the two of them having dichromatic eyes.

"You okay, Red?" Sky asked, looking down at her. She stiffened a little at the nickname, but then she sighed and nodded. "Hey, just you wait: if no one of us makes a fuss, they'll forget about you in no time. That's just how gossip work."

"Even with something as extraordinary as our situation?" asked Ren. "Goodwitch should've said that Ruby was just an outside addition to our team and not mentioned Jaune's Semblance…"

"That could've worked, but Ruby's death is official. Ruby Crimson Rose, age fifteen, officially died five days ago at nine thirty-seven pm. If she suddenly joined the Academy, there would be questions," explained Weiss, knowledgeable as usual. "Although taking care of those would've been easier. They chose this route because Beacon couldn't afford to mess up news about death. Or did not want to. Or…"

"No, that's not the point," sighed Jaune. "I talked with Auntie Glynda yesterday, after the announcement. This is not the whole plan. They _will_ mess up the news and 'accept' Ruby into Beacon, but it'll take them time. Until then, they have to lie about her presence here."

"That won't work," scoffed Weiss. "The students…"

"Think Weiss, not everyone is as smart as you are. The students here are still just teens." Jaune vaguely gestured to the whole cafeteria. "If you tell them about this secret plan they were a part of _after_ it's all over, they'll be all smug and content to have been part of a secret plan. We would too. IT would make them feel important. It's the same method I use when I need my sisters to do something, it works on almost everyone…"

"I refuse to believe Beacon's students would be so immature and childish," Weiss sniffed imperiously. "They might be teens but they have a responsibility, and they are _trained_ to become warriors. The future protectors of-"

 _Splat_.

"Whoops, sorry, wrong _object_. I was aiming for the trash can."

Ruby shrank even more, trying to disappear into her seat, as something splattered on the back of her head, her expression dejected and defeated. Jaune and Sky grabbed some kitchen towels and began to clean her hair, neck and hood from the eggs -cooked sunny-side up and thus hard to clean off-, while Yang growled and stood up to deal with whoever had thrown the egg.

A big guy with burnt hair was laughing alongside his team, who patted his back. Sky narrowed his eyes and stood up as well, following Yang as the two made their way over to the team. Taking the chance, Ruby quickly evaded the others' gazes and bolted out of the cafeteria with the feeble excuse of having to wash her hair and hood to remove the eggs. Jaune tried to stop her, but she was gone from the hall before he had even stood up completely.

"Go after her." He turned to Blake, who was glaring daggers at the team of idiots. "Your fighting skills are not needed here, but you do have sisters, so it would be better if you went after her. Besides, she obviously ran to your dorm, not ours."

Jaune blinked. That had to be the first time Blake even spoke to him, but he had more important matters to take care of. For example a redhead girl who had just ran out of the cafeteria. He glanced one more time at Yang and Sky, who were animatedly arguing with the boys of that team, before running out of the hall.

Meanwhile, Yang was very tempted to cave in the smug prick's moronic face. Maybe he would look better after it. His smug expression didn't help at all. "Do we have a problem, Winchester?" she asked, seething.

"No, as far as I'm aware," he sneered at her before bursting out laughing at his 'clever' comeback. Oum, he was one of those types. She already disliked him more. "Do we have a problem?"

"You just threw eggs at Ruby!" she exclaimed slamming a hand on the table. "I'd say we do."

"What? I just wanted to throw away those eggs," he replied. "I aimed wrong and they hit the wrong object. Is that a crime?"

Yang's growl told him he had said the wrong thing. With a mighty snarl, she grabbed his head and smashed it into the table so hard it broke in half and closed on him, sending food everywhere.

The three idiots jumped to their feet, scared and alarmed by her rage, and one of them jumped up right on time, receiving a kick in the face from Sky. Despite not being the best fighter of his team, the boy did know how to fight. Backed up by Yang, the duo was enough to send the others running. They didn't even retrieve their two downed comrades, instead leaving them to the duo's mercy.

Looking back to their table, Yang sighed as she saw that Ruby, Jaune and Blake had disappeared.

/-/

"I-I just need to w-wash my hair and hood," Ruby insisted. "You c-can go back in the cafeteria w-with the others."

Jaune raised an eyebrow at her. Having only older sisters didn't mean he didn't know how to handle a younger one. And at the moment he could clearly see that Ruby was not fine, and that he had to remain. "Eh, I can always help you with that," he shrugged. "It's not like I have much to do anyway. Today's Sunday, no classes, and I could just get to know you better since apparently, you're my new sister."

Ruby didn't look up and continued to wash her hair in the sink. "Jaune-"

"Plus, you know, I was thinking that if you ever needed someone to talk with, or to, I could volunteer. It's been a while since I had my last sibling talk," he added, grabbing a shampoo bottle and pouring some into his own hands before soaping up Ruby's hair. She yelped at the unforeseen action, but didn't make any movements to remove his hands. He seemed to have experience. "Like, we could talk about getting you a new weapon, don't you think? I'm sorry for your last one but hey, you get to design it all over again so yay, right?"

"Jaune, i-it's not necessary…"

"Come on, I haven't done someone's hair in ages. Allow your new big brother a bit of entertainment. Look, I'm almost done. No, wait, it'd be kinda hard for you to look." He rinsed her hair and grabbed a towel, rubbing it on her head. In a way, she felt really like a wet puppy being dried by the owner, the pictured completed by her small pout. After a while, he ditched the towel and took out an electric drier. "Here you are, as if nothing ever happened. Now let's wash your hood, okay?"

Ruby sighed. Apparently he wasn't gonna let her go that easily. The two of them washed the eggs off her hood, and then they left it to dry in the bathroom while the two of them waited in the dorm. Ruby climbed on a bed, Ren's if she was right, and just sat there, trying to ignore the elephant in the room. Unfortunately, Jaune did not want to follow her lead.

"So, indirect approach doesn't work with you, let's try direct," he proclaimed, sitting down beside her and creating a larger depression on the mattress. "We both know perfectly well why I am here, why you are here, and what I'd like you to talk about." She didn't reply. "I have seven sisters, Ruby, don't you dare think you can outlast me on the silence treatment."

"Seven?"

"Ciel, Cometé, Amor, Stella, Luna, Rouge and Verity," he listed off without missing a beat. "But let's not change topic, okay? I know you are still hurt by what happened in the cafeteria, but you cannot allow that to get to you, okay?"

"It's just… why? What have I done to them?" she asked. "They don't even know me…"

"People do not need to know you in order for them to hate you," a voice said from the door. Both teens jumped as Blake entered the room. "To them, you're just different, and that's enough. Some are curious, but most are hostile. The people fear the unknown, and a Hunter's reaction to fear is usually aggressiveness. They did that just because they could, and because you unsettled them. They couldn't make head or tails of you, and so went for their default response… hostility."

"But why?"

"We live in a world full of soulless monsters, Ruby. When you don't know something, reacting hostilely could save your life. But you're right, such behaviour should not be encouraged nor accepted." The girl walked up to them and sat on the bed on the other side of Ruby. "The Faunus are the best example I could ever give you. Like humanity, Faunuskind _has_ some despicable individuals. But their differences make them unknown for the people, and those few individuals end up making the people react hostilely to _all_ Faunus."

"But I have nothing against Faunus…" began the redhead, but Blake stopped her.

"You mightn't, but you are not most people. I won't go into detail, but let me tell you: there is a reason if the White Fang has formed. They are not just murder-happy Faunus with a knack for terrorism. Quite the opposite, they are normal people tired of discrimination. And yet most of them never did anything wrong. Their only crime was not being understood by humanity." Blake waved at her. "You are even less understood. For all they know you are the first non-human, non-Faunus being with Aura, personality and capable of thought. You're something new, unheard of, and unknown. Again, none of these is liked by the people."

"Then why don't they try to know me?" Ruby asked naively.

"If all people thought like you, Ruby, Remnant would be at peace," sighed the older girl. "The people are… complicated. But returning to our topic, I wanted to know one thing." Yellow met silver and blue. "I may not have known your sister for long but she beat up those guys immediately after they threw those eggs, she's there for you when you need her. So why flee?"

Ruby shrank a bit. "I…"

"Victim behaviour," Jaune supplied helpfully. "My sister Amor studies psychology and she taught me a little of it. When you're victim of some stuff, even the nasty ones, you freeze. Even though you could actually do something you freeze. I don't really know, but it's psychological."

"That's not exactly what I meant, Jaune," replied Blake. "Why flee when you had your friends right there? You had your army. Those four punks are probably, as Yang would say, 'scared shitless' by now. Why did you run?"

"Still victim behaviour," interrupted Jaune. "She feels like no one would help her or that she should do it by her-"

"Jaune, please, shut your mouth," ordered Blake, covering his mouth with her hand. "You have people you can rely on, Ruby. I know this was just the first sign of bullism but believe me: it _will_ continue. Now that the wood has been ignited, there's no snuffing it out, only waiting for the fire to die down. But if you are on your own, it'll take much longer." Her eyes narrowed. "Especially if you don't fight back."

"It was nothing, just some eggs," Ruby tried to minimize, but the black-haired girl was having none of that.

"Today is just some eggs, tomorrow is just some shoving, next week will be just hits and before you know, things have degenerated and you're going back to your dorm with bruises every night," she remarked. "Look at what happened to the Faunus. They reacted in two ways. One, what the White Fang is doing: aggressive fighting back. Two, what that rabbit Faunus is doing when Cardin pulls her ears: nothing. You take it and look down at your feet. That's what happens when you are oppressed. There's not in-between. But, it's up to you if you want to fight back or look down. Just remember that you do have people to help you."

"I can just tell Auntie Glynda to set them up against fourth years in Combat Class," offered Jaune. They deadpanned at him. "What? It's just a suggestion!"

"You and your illegal ways aside," Blake snorted, amused, as she returned to look at Ruby. "You should really come back in the cafeteria. Breakfast's not over yet. Show those idiots it'll take much more to really hurt you. And if they try…" Her grin turned vicious unexpectedly, the normally introverted girl's eyes now sparkling with malice. "Sky, Yang and I will be more than enough beat the discrimination out of their systems."

"And I can make sure no one of us gets in trouble," smirked Jaune. Once again they looked at him. "Er… nephew of Professor Goodwitch, remember?"

"Oum must be smiling upon us. We can 'kick some butts' and not get in trouble," Blake drawled, rolling her eyes. "Well, since you're Auntie's Little Knight, why don't you go tell her about what those four imbeciles did?"

"Why don't we all go?" He slightly elbowed Ruby in the ribs. "With Ruby's adorableness here, she's gonna crumble faster than a sandcastle."

The three of them headed back to the cafeteria, their hearts a little lighter. When they entered, Ruby found out she had two more bodyguards. Yang and Sky joined the group and now they were walking in a rhombus. Yang was at the lead, scowling at everyone and everything. On Ruby's left there was Sky, and on her right Jaune. Behind everyone walked Blake, much less emotive now that she was in the open, but there nonetheless.

They were stopped by four people.

One of them, apparently the leader, stepped forwards. He had cured brown hair and faded green eyes. He was around as tall as Blake. Behind him there were two wolf Faunus twin, both with topaz-blond hair and brown eyes, both slightly taller than their leader. And behind them there was a boy with short black hair and orange eyes, slightly taller than Ruby herself. Yang glared at them, but the leader stepped forth nonetheless. "Forgive me, I'd like to speak with Ruby Rose," he said.

Yang readied a punch, but Ruby beat her to it. She stepped out from the middle of the rhombus and looked at the boy. "Er… here I am! Er… hi?"

"My name is Arthur Rìgh, leader of Team ARTR." He gestured to the other three, who waved slightly. "These are Rachele Spearing, Trayor Mordree and Ryne Spearing. We wanted to tell you, Ms Rose, that we support you."

"What?"

"We've noticed how you've been mistreated by the other students, and we wanted you to know that we aren't like that. Whenever you'll need help, just call us. Our Scroll numbers are on the database." He then dropped the formal tone and smiled. "But anyway, our dorm's the second door on the right from the start of the dorm building. Almost first dorm you see. Come knock if you need."

The four farewelled them and walked away, leaving a surprised Ruby and a smug-looking Jaune behind. The boy elbowed her in the ribs. "What did I tell you, Ruby? You do have friends and allies."

"I… guess so…"

 ** _Aww, that's so nice. Eheh, you thought big bad Khor would've put everyone against poor little Ruby, eh? Well, of course not. Team ARTR is a good team._**

 ** _They are a reference to King Arthur. The leader's name (Arthur Rìgh) means Arthur King in... I think Scottish. I made these OCs a long time ago... Then we have Rachele and Ryne Spearing (Lancelot), their last name is what matters. And then we have Trayor Mordree (Traitor Mordred). But Trayor is not a bad guy, just a little Blake-like._**

 ** _Also, Sky is turning out to be a much better person. Maybe he only has issues with Faunus? Yikes, he's on a team with Blake..._**

 ** _And finally... o.0 Jaune gambles and cheats at dice... that was unforeseen, uh? Honestly, I didn't know what I was writing, either, but then I liked the explanation about luck and I decided to keep it. Besides, it's not like he'll save the world with that skill of his, right?_**

 ** _Next chapter: Teary Problems. A match in Combat Class. Jaune Arc Rose Xiao Long vs Vero Tear. That damn asshole!? He's still here!? Damn, you must think. And this time I'm not even offing him! Really, what a shame. Plus there will also be team fractures. Teams shatter and people... to be honest, aren't worried._**

 ** _EDIT: Vero Tear is an OC of mine, not an SI, just an OC. You can see him as one of the "villains" in Trail of Blood, and he appears in A Darker Shade of Gold Ch6 "Skipping School". He also appears in a short Omake in The Grimm of Beacon (the story is currently on hiatus). I understand that some of you might not have read my darker works, so I've just added this edit. Have a nice day._**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	8. Teary Problems

**_Heya guys. This chapter should've come with an Omake but FFN decided to be a dick to me and deleted the whole thing. And since I only keep chapters saved on my computer, no AN or Omakes... just got the whole damn thing deleted. Argh, I hate and love this site, but sometimes I hate it more than I love it! Right now I'm totally not in the mood to write an Omake so, I'm sorry, but maybe next time._**

 ** _EDIT: Fuck FFN, I re-wrote the Omake! Look at the bottom!_**

The day had begun normally, like more or less any other day. It had been Yang's fourth consecutive day sleeping in JWVL's dorm, but this time she hadn't been the only one. Sky and Blake had decided to sleep over and keep an eye on Ruby. Exasperated, Weiss had simply moved to Team NBLS's dorm, together with Ren and Nora, to at least not overcrowd their own room. She had been very vocal about her complaints, though, something that had annoyed Blake to no end.

To tell the truth, Blake's and Sky's sudden decision hadn't been completely unexpected. Together with Yang and Jaune, the two of the always hovered around Ruby like bodyguards at all times, to the point that Yang had refused to fight in a team battle NBLS vs JWVL because she had to keep an eye on Ruby. Pyrrha alone had been enough to defeat JWVL, with Blake and Sky chipping in when needed, but Weiss surely hadn't appreciated being laughed at by almost the entire audience.

Sky had turned out to be quite the simple person. He normally just went along with anything his team wanted to do, or his friends wanted to do, and he chipped in time and again to tell his opinion, but he was mostly quiet. Blake held a different meaning of quiet, usually hiding behind a book or just straight-out staring the interlocutor down until they stopped talking to her. But both of them had offered support to Ruby, although Blake seemed to be quite fond of using Faunus as examples.

The day had continued normally enough, with the usual curious comments and offensive ones thrown around. They had kind of gotten used to them, although Ruby was still sad about the lie Goodwitch had told the students. She had a soul, dammit! Why did she have to pretend she didn't?!

The day hadn't gotten much better after Port's class nor after Peach's. Port's because… well, it was Port's. And as for Professor Peach, they had yet to see her. The instructions for the lesson of the day were always written on the blackboard in a calligraphy terribly similar to Professor Goodwitch's, and the mysterious Professor Peach still hadn't appeared. They had started to doubt her very existence after the third 'missed' lesson, no matter how many times Goodwitch had tried to tell them otherwise.

Lunch hadn't brought much relief to the students, but at least the day was halfway gone. Surviving Beacon's morning classes was more difficult than killing an Ursa. They were just so _boring_. Between Port's ramblings, Oobleck's unintelligible hyper-fast speech, Peach's complete absence, and Ozpin's new habit to just sit on his chair and grin smugly while staring at Ruby and Jaune, or rather at their eyes, the students had been bored from breakfast up until lunch.

"Look, there's the walking trashcan again!"

Although the break from boredom had costed them the comments of the other students.

"Arc-… Jaune, I'd like to speak with you."

As well as an unexpected request from Weiss.

"Err… sure, why not?" he smiled tentatively, at odd with Weiss's frown, as he stood up. Sky immediately took his place beside Ruby, Yang flanking her on the other side. "What about?"

"The teams." He sighed. It was too early to deal with Weiss talking about teams. Even if it was lunch already. _Never_ was a good time to speak with Weiss about teams. "I said teams, not team leadership."

"It's not like that reassures me much…" he noted, ignoring the grape someone had just thrown at him bouncing off his head. "Just lead the way, Snow Angel."

Weiss stiffened and her eyes flashed. "Stop calling me by that asinine nick-"

Yang loudly cleared her throat. "Ehm-ehm!"

Weiss glared at her, and then took a _deep_ breath. "Ar-… Jaune, for personal reasons I'd like not to disclose at this moment I am displeased by that nickname. I have a name I'm pretty sure it's not hard to remember nor to spell, so please use that," she corrected herself. "And if you really can't help yourself from nicknaming people like Yang, at least keep it to a minimum, and change nickname."

Jaune blinked and looked at Yang, who just whistled innocently. There was something going on, that much he was sure. "O…kay?"

Another grape hit the back of his head as he followed the white haired girl out of the cafeteria. Unbeknownst to them, a certain blonde teacher also got up and followed them, making sure to _accidentally_ use her Semblance to sweep the chairs out from under the grape-throwers. _'Ah… nothing better than a little revenge to lift my spirits,'_ she inwardly grinned at the unceremonious yelps of the fallen students.

Back with Jaune and Weiss, the girl had stopped in a corridor not far from the cafeteria. They had classes after lunch, so it was better not to go too far away. "Okaay… What did you want to talk about?"

"Our teams are not working at all, and it's all your fault." He sighed. Another of those conversation… "Ever since you 'resurrected' Ruby, Yang is sleeping in our dorm, and it's two days Blake and Sky joined in. These teams are just _not_ working at all. You barely had time for us, for your _team_ , and those three basically left their leader on her own. If that's not lacking in the 'team' department, I don't know what is."

Jaune opened his mouth to reply, but then he actually thought about it. As little as he liked Weiss's attitude, her words weren't wrong. Pyrrha, NBLS's leader, had indeed been kind of abandoned by her teammates and Jaune had indeed kind of abandoned his team. They had even changed where they sat for eating, leaving Pyrrha with -WVL and with Sky, Yang, Ruby, Jaune and Blake occupying the other side of the table. He shook his head to clear it from the confusing thoughts. "I know, I'm sorry for that. It's just that…"

"Ruby needs to stay with you, Yang wants to stay with Ruby, and for some reason Blake and Sky seem to be staying with Ruby as well," Weiss completed, unamused. "But this is not a good reason to neglect your team. Barely more than a week ago, you told me that I wasn't fit to be leader because I couldn't handle people. I've seen you can, but apparently you do not wish to handle your _team_ , but people who are _not_ teammates. Ren, Nora and I have been left on our own while our mighty 'leader' was off with other people. Believe, none of us is pleased. Pyrrha is a pleasant person to talk with, but shouldn't _you_ be the one leading us?"

Jaune winced at the accusation and looked down at his feet. Should he be the one? Yes, of course, absolutely, without the shadow of a doubt. Could he be the one? He… he wasn't sure. He had to keep Ruby in mind and with Ruby seemingly came Yang, Sky and even Blake. Could he handle _all_ of them? No, he couldn't, that much was sure. He had an obligation toward both parties, and none weighed more than the other. "I-"

"-think I have the solution." Professor Glynda Goodwitch turned the corner with a victorious grin on her face. "If you _have_ to handle Ms Rose, Ms Xiao Long, Mr Lark and Ms Belladonna, and you _have_ to handle your team… Well, I don't see why we couldn't make _them_ your team."

"What?!" Weiss exclaimed, half-outraged, half-shocked.

"Staying in a team you can't or don't work well with will damage your studies," the professor continued, ignoring Weiss's cries. "And we wouldn't want that. So why not change your teams into something that will help the both of you?"

"Auntie Glyn, it's not like you can change the-" Jaune blinked as she showed him her Scroll. "'Request a team change'? What kind of Scroll option is that?"

Goodwitch smirked as she tapped it for him. "Simple. Students aren't _forced_ to stay with their team for the whole year. But if they really want to change them, they have to get smart and ask or check their Scrolls. Just wishing won't get you anywhere." She handed the Scroll back to him after having tampered with it for a moment. "You just need to insert the team you are wishing for. Student IDs are the only accepted insert, though," she added once he tried to type Yang's full name.

"And those are…?"

Goodwitch sighed good-naturedly. "JN5RC3-2512 is yours. All letters are uppercase. Try to figure out the code…" she added with a wink that, hadn't Weiss known wasn't meant like that, would've looked very inappropriate.

Jaune sighed and looked at the code. "JN5RC3… and 2512. These last four digits are my birthday's date pushed together. I guess the first part has to be about me as well…" He frowned before light bulb seemed to go off in his head. "The consonants of my first name and surname, and the length of both!"

"What?" asked Weiss, confused.

"J-au-N-e, JN, 5 letters. A-RC, RC, 3 letters," he explained quickly before his smile fell. "Oh… I guess I'll have to ask the others for their birthdays…"

Weiss frowned before she turned and marched off. "Well, if that's the case, I should be off to gather the IDs of my future teammates as well."

Jaune blinked as she disappeared before turning to his aunt. "Err… I guess I should go too," he excused himself as he took off after the heiress. He stopped just short of turning the corner. "Oh, and Auntie Glyn, thanks for helping me in Combat Class. I'm not sure how I feel about you using your Telekinesis, but it surely helped. Thanks!"

"Oh, it's no problem dear," she shrugged it off with a smile. Besides, no one had ever caught her using her Semblance to aid someone in a fight, so it wasn't like she was in trouble of being called out on it. "Besides, you are not the first time I do something like that. I _really_ don't like bullies." She stressed the word with a vicious edge in her eyes.

/-/

"Our next match will be Vero Tear, of Team TTNN, against Jaune Arc Rose Xiao Long, formerly member of Team JWVL, currently awaiting confirmation to become member of Team ABRYL." Even as she said it, Goodwitch inwardly winced at Jaune's team's new name. April… who the hell spelled April as 'ABRYL'? She could understand that the Headmaster's mind have been elsewhere in the few days prior, specifically the fact they now had _two_ Silver Eyed Warriors in their school, but still… Celebrating all day long wasn't a good reason to come up with stupid names. "May the two combatants go change into their fighting wear. You have five minutes before the fight."

Jaune frowned as he rose from his seat, recalling only bad memories from the Vero guy. A bully, that was for sure, an arrogant idiot with a Semblance he liked to show off as often as he could, and all around the most hated student in the entire Academy. And his opponent was he himself, Jaune Arc Rose Xiao Long -damn you, Yang-, worst student of Beacon Academy.

Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

He quickly changed into his combat gear, that just meant his usual hoodie with his usual jeans with his usual armour, and grabbed his new weapons. Weapons he didn't know how to use. Crocea Mors was still strapped at his waist, but he couldn't feel any kind of connection to it. He couldn't feel a connection to Rubis Solaire, either, but that was beside the point. He still carried it with him, just in case he needed it. Besides, he didn't know how to fight _at all_ , so it wasn't like he was willing to give up a weapon.

"So, weakling, what about a bet?" He fought the urge to swear as the other boy, Vero, spoke up. Really, the only place where he never bragged was in the bathrooms, and even there only because he was apparently severely lacking 'downstairs'. That never failed to make him laugh. The communal bathrooms didn't help, either, given the presence of girls in there as well. Unfortunately, the changing rooms were _not_ the bathrooms, so Vero was being his usual arrogant self. Jaune would've paid anything for someone to just drop a building on the imbecile.

 _'Yes, let's bet! I bet your pants are loose just to hide your 'little' problem!'_ he thought viciously. "I'm not exactly one who likes betting… Vero, is it?"

The boy scoffed. "You'd think a weakling like you would know my name. Yes, it's Vero. Vero Tear. You'd better remember it, 'cause next time I'll carve it into your forehead."

 _'Newsflash, if you carve it on my forehead I won't be able to see it, idiot!'_ Again, he kept himself from expressing his thoughts aloud. They would only earn him a severe beating. "Anyway, I'm not one who likes bets. Maybe a bit of gambling at dice or cards, but I hate to just bet."

"Come on, weakling, it's just a little bet between peers," Vero sneered at him. The guy had the expressiveness of a brick. Overall, he had four expressions: ashamed, when in the bathrooms, angry or enraged, arrogant or smug, and sneering when talking. "It can't hurt anyone… Say, the girl in red is your Semblance, right?"

Jaune's eye twitched. Once, then again. "Kind of…"

Vero waved a hand in the air as if to dispel those words. "Whatever. Say, weakling, what about this little bet: if you win this match, I help you bang the hot Professor." Jaune's gloves creaked as he went rigid with rage, his hands very tightly closed into fists. "If I win, you let me bang little red."

"If you are so in need of getting laid, you could always go ask a Beowolf to bang you," he snapped as he stormed out of the changing rooms. "After all, you two are very akin. But maybe even Grimm have standards."

The blond entered the arena in such a mood, he would've been a lighthouse for the Grimm. Shortly after arrived Vero, with his usual sneer. Goodwitch uneasily looked at the two of them before she sighed and synced their Scrolls to the system. Vero's Aura filled up in just three seconds or so. Jaune's, on the other hand, took at least fifteen seconds before reaching the top of the bar.

Vero grinned at that. Big Aura or not, his Semblance was all he would need. Nonchalantly, he activated it as he took out his weapon. Its effect's radius was limited, barely above seven feet from himself, but his own weapon was just a melee weapon, so he would need to go melee nonetheless. Jaune too took out Rubis Solaire, and after a second he shifted it into bow mode. All kids played with toy bows when they were young, him included, while not everyone played with guns, so he felt a little more comfortable using the bow instead of the gun in the scythe mode. Besides, how the heck does one even use a scythe?!

"Three… Two… One… Begin!"

Jaune flinched defensively, expecting to be charged immediately, but instead Vero was just standing twenty feet away from him. Either fighter could've closed the distance in a second. None did. After five long moments, Jaune readied his bow and notched an Aura arrow onto the Aura string. Thankfully the books he had read had helped him a bit about that. His aim still sucked, though.

He fired the arrow, hoping to at least distract Vero, but the arrow just disappeared once it arrived within a yard or two from the boy. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed, notching another arrow. It had the same result, aka none, as the first, but Vero smirked.

"Do you like my Semblance?" he asked cockily, calmly walking toward Jaune, who began to step back. "I call it Aura Negation. Now, you can have your Soul Extension thing that makes you summon a very fuckable loli-" From the audience, more than a student roared in anger and outrage, no one more so than Yang herself. Jaune stopped backing away at that, foolishly but angrily. "-but my Semblance is far better. It is why you should just bow to me and give up the fight. Within a short radius from me, all Aura is negated. No Aura means no Semblance, either. So you are just a normal, pitiful civilian against me-"

 _Bang!_

Vero dodged the bullet with ease and looked at Jaune. "A gun-scythe? Really? What a pathetic weapon for a pathetic idiot like you."

"Hey!" Ruby protested from the audience.

Jaune gritted his teeth and switched Rubis Solaire back into twin sabres mode, sheathing them on his back once again. Nope, against someone like Vero he would need a damn shield, and fast! Without thinking he took out Crocea Mors and his old shield. Old, but better than nothing.

"Even more pathetic," Vero scoffed, drawing his longsword. "This is a weapon worth forging. This wonder can turn into a fifteen-feet-long whip, perfect for idiots like you, who aren't brave enough to come closer."

"Is it that long to compensate for _something_ , Vero?!" someone shouted from the audience, and many burst out laughing. Red spread on the boy's cheeks as his anger rose as well as his shame.

"Shut up! I'm gonna show you who I am!" he roared as he charged Jaune. Thankfully, probably out of pure luck, the blond knight managed to dodge the hit, although by doing so he entered Vero's anti-Aura sphere.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Jaune's eyes immediately went up only to see Ruby fall off her seat, spasms of pain racking through her body. Yang and Sky both shouted, but everything was mute to Jaune as he realized one single thing.

Vero's Semblance negated Aura, and thus Semblances.

His own Semblance had been what had resurrected Ruby.

Was Vero _killing_ Ruby by negating his Semblance?!

Before he could dwell on it further, he caught Ruby screaming "LOOK OUT!" at him, and he turned just in time to feel Vero's sword catching his left clavicle and slicing through his skin and flesh, snapping the bone with ease.

As opposite to 'everything', the pain was _not_ mute to him.

He screamed as he felt the sword leave his body somewhere near his left pectoral muscle. It had thankfully not been deep enough, as it left his flesh, to snap any rib, so his lungs at least were safe, but the pain was still blinding. It reminded him of the time he had basically broken a few bones while foolishly running on a mountain path. A single slip had sent him tumbling down for at least a hundred yards, and left him conscious just long enough for him to scream. Thankfully his mother had been immediately there to help him, or Oum only knew what would've happened. He would've probably died.

The pain in his shoulder was excruciating, he knew that, but at the same time it was bearable. He wasn't stranger to pain -heck, he had been training his resistance to pain with _Yang_ \- and even if serious, the wound wasn't all that deep.

No, what was worse was the fact he could still hear Ruby's screams of pain.

"Now, let's see how cocky you are when you actually have to fight!" He raised his head just in time to see Vero bringing his sword down on him once more. He tuned out Goodwitch's scream, everyone's screams, and just focused on Ruby's.

To use her words… Nope.

Nope. Nope nope nope. Nope at all.

His left arm just hurt more and did nothing as he tried to move it, but his right one intercepted the sword before it sank into his head. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain to strike again as his arm was severed, but instead he felt nothing if not Vero's shocked exclamation. Daring to open his eyes, he saw that his arm was covered in a red glow. A red glow that _wasn't_ negated by the asshole's Semblance.

A red glow that looked really like Aura.

His left shoulder stopped hurting. It wasn't healed, not by a mile, but he was able to stand again. Although he did not stand. He chose a more _direct_ approach to punish the miserable being that wasn't even worth of being called human, punish _it_ for the pain _it_ had caused Ruby. _'I'm gonna kill you, bastard.'_

With a grunt of exertion, Jaune tackled Vero to the ground, slapping _its_ sword away from _its_ slack hands. Then he grabbed the imbecile's collar and began to repeatedly bang _its_ head onto the ground. After a few bangs, Vero finally lost _its_ focus and _its_ Semblance's effect disappeared. But that wasn't enough.

Feeling his shoulder, still not healed, but able to move, he banged _its_ head one last time before he changed tactic. With years of forging to back his strength up, Jaune began to rain blow after blow onto _its_ face. _It_ would probably look better after the treatment. With his Aura back, Jaune continued to punch what he now knew was the _thing_ he hated most in the world with all his strength, not caring about the damage he was inflicting to his own Aura. After a minute, Vero's Aura bar buzzed as it hit the red. Jaune didn't stop and the only cries of 'Stop him!' were quickly silenced. Vero's Aura soon reached the zero percent, and Jaune began to punch flesh instead of Aura.

"That's enough."

Goodwitch's voice, stern even with him for once, was the only warning he got before her Telekinesis pulled him away from the bleeding face of the _thing_ laying unconscious on the ground. "Someone bring Mr Tear to the infirmary. He needs immediate medical treatment, and possibly surgery. Now!"

Without wasting a second, Vero's three teammates rushed into the arena and dragged their knocked-out leader away, all the while glaring daggers at Jaune. Hadn't he been so damn angry, he would've probably realized he had made himself four incredibly powerful enemies.

"As you can see, Mr Arc's Semblance is _not_ just the creation of an Avatar," Goodwitch continued, and Jaune snapped out of his rage-induced trance to look at her. What did she mean by that? "During the fight, Mr Arc made use of Ms Rose's own Aura to protect himself from Mr Tear's attack. I cannot be sure, but apparently their 'link' has more powers than we thought it had. Class dismissed. Ms Belladonna, could you please accompany Mr Arc to the infirmary as well? His injury needs to be looked at, or the bone could fix itself in the wrong position."

Jaune nodded dumbly as Blake, Yang, Sky, Ruby, Weiss, Nora and Ren all rushed to him, with Pyrrha trailing behind. He tuned out their questions and praise and looked at Ruby. "Are you okay? I know that… that… that _stain on the word person_ hurt you with his damn Semblance. Does it still hurt?"

Ruby shook her head, although she still appeared afraid. Jaune could related. Punching Vero into oblivion had been, ironically, a spun-of-the-moment kind of idea. Now that he had a clear mind… he was absolutely terrified by the boy and his team. "No I… I'm fine now," she said before looking at him. "Although… during the fight, I felt pain all through my body, but then I swear I _thought_ your voice. Like… I didn't _hear_ it, it was just in my mind…"

Jaune frowned. What? "What?"

"I… you said 'I'm gonna kill you, bastard'…" she confessed, and his eyes went wide. Yes, he had indeed said that, but to himself. Not aloud. And even then, he doubted Ruby would've been able to hear him. He wondered if he had accidentally shouted it, but the others' confused looks told him otherwise.

Looking back at Ruby, he tried to shrug, but his left shoulder flared up its pain again, and he winced.

"It doesn't matter, let's get you to the infirmary," stated Yang, no space for arguments in her voice.

/-/

 _'An Auric and telepathic link with Jaune…'_ Ruby pondered as she walked Beacon's halls. _'With the chance of a stronger empathic link… put like this, it sounds so very cool.'_

It had been five more days since Vero's… ehm-ehm… facial reconstruction, and those had been quiet days. "Jaune?" she called out. The blond walking beside her hummed in acknowledgement. "Have I told you already that I _really_ like your Semblance?"

"Only five or so times already," he replied lightly, and the two shared a chuckle. "But yeah, if it was powerful before, I guess I just crossed the line into godhood now…"

"Eh, don't get too cocky, you can still improve." She elbowed him in the side for more effect. "Your fight was awesome, I've seen a recording made by another student. It's a pity I… I couldn't see for myself. I was totally rooting for you breaking his face and figures, you broke his face! By the way… How's your new cool scar?"

"Aside from not feeling cool at all, and the fact I'm really pissed Aura can't prevent scars from forming when healing a serious wound, all good," he sighed. "But seriously, can't you just drop the 'cool' thing? You, Yang, Sky… even Blake! There's nothing to make me feel better about, no need to call it 'cool' when it isn't."

"But it _is_ cool," Ruby argued as the two turned a corner. She began to walk sideways to continue to face him. "We are not just trying to make you feel better… Jaune, what is it?"

Jaune's eyes widened before they narrowed again.

For pure, mere, stupid _bad luck_ , the corridor they were in was completely empty if not for three people. One was Ruby herself, of course, certified socially awkward. Another was Jaune, just as obviously, certified awkward dork. But the final one was someone they _really_ didn't want to see, someone who had been admitted out of the infirmary just recently. Someone whose nose Jaune had broken alongside his entire face. Someone who actually looked better with a broken face than with his normal sneer.

Vero fucking Tear.

 ** _Oh yeah, having Jaune cave in Vero's face was so very satisfying. As for the guest who reviewed "_ _Are you going to throw in this fucking OC everywhere? Because he's shit, you know." Yes, I know. And probably yes. In my "headcanon" he attends Beacon and is obsessed with Ruby so I'm sorry but yeah. He won't probably won't play a role like he did in Trail of Blood (villain) but he'll probably be at least mentioned. So I'm sorry, but if you like my stories I fear you'll have to read of him too._**

 ** _And now, explanation: how could Ruby's Aura protect Jaune if Jaune's Aura arrow vanished? Because Ruby (the source) was still out of Vero's sphere of negation, while once released the arrow only had itself (not Jaune any more) as Aura source._**

 ** _And now... OMAKE TIME!_**

VERO TEAR GETS TORN A NEW ONE

Vero Tear blinked and looked around. That… was weird. The last thing he remembered was facing the pathetic weakling and the fuckable loli. Then there had been a flash of red, black and blue light, and he had found himself in a dark room with just one door… locked.

Then said door opened.

The first man to enter was a tall man with brown hair and a black mask with red glass eyes to cover his upper face. He had red light armour in the form of bracers and greaves, and a pauldron on his shoulder with a black symbol of burning flames with two feathery wings sprouting from them. He also wore a dark grey hoodie and black jeans with black boots. Criss-crossing his red belt there was a silver chain, and on the belt itself hung ten shortswords similar to daggers. "Finally we meet, Vero Tear…" he chuckled, making the boy freeze. His voice promised pain, agony, torture, torment, excruciation and eternal sufferance. His name was Zeke Phoenix.

The second man was a lithe man with dark brown hair and a single silver eye, a silvering metal mask covering the whole right side of his face. His armour was just a black chestplate, and under it he wore a black Gothic tailcoat jacket with violet accents. He seemed to have cybernetics for arms and legs as well, sleek and deadly-looking cybernetics. On his back, Vero could see the black handles of two swords, and two mechanical bat wings full of blades and gun barrels. A violet symbol, a rose with two dragon wings, sat on his chest. "We were looking forward to meet you…" he added with a half-grin, the other half lost under the mask. His name was Khorevis Argento.

The third was the tallest. He had dark brown and brown-green eyes, with the green colour focused around the pupil. He wore a white armour with Lightning Dust blue accents, composed by a chestplate, gloves, rerebraces, armoured boots and a visor. On his gloves sat Lightning Dust outputs, although for what use Vero didn't know. Slung on his back there was a bastard sword, and at his hip hung a combat dagger. "We are going to teach you a lesson you will never forget," he grinned as he closed the door behind him. His name was BlōdFȳr RedNight.

Vero Tear felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Now… let the lesson begin," stated Phoenix as they all drew their weapons.

Soon, the Multiverse was filled with his screams.

Zeke toyed with him cruelly, slicing into him repeatedly and using his Semblance, Inferno, in short bursts of flame to cauterize his wounds. He also had fun keeping the boy up in the air, kicking him back up every time he fell, and he had no qualms about using his silver chain as a whip to tear flesh and skin off him.

Khorevis's slashes were faster but lighter, like blades in the wind. He used his clawed and bladed cybernetics to shred flesh and used Wind Dust circuits in them to push air into Vero's bloodstream. His bladed wings cut heavier but slower slashes, and he used his mechanical bladed legs to kick even stronger.

BlōdFȳr wasn't far behind. His sword cut and sliced with ease through flesh and bone, and he often used his Lightning Dust to heighten Vero's perception of pain by overloading his nerves. He also used his combat dagger to carve pieces out of the boy's body. His Semblance, Fire of the Stars, activated to keep him from bleeding out, cauterizing the wounds.

Eventually, the screams died down, and the Multiverse was silent again.

In the room stood the three men, now bloody and satisfied. They all sheathed their weapons and grinned at each other, nodding once, before they walked out of the door. Zeke was even whistling a happy motive. On the floor, abandoned, remained what once was Vero Tear, now a bloody heap of flesh and bone, broken and unrecognizable.

/-/

Vero Tear snapped out of his trance with a barely contained scream, the weakling and the loli long gone. He looked around and realized he was completely alone. Then he looked down and realized that he might've been able to contain a scream, but his body hadn't contained anything else. The front of his pants was wet, and the rear was brown.

Then he caught a flash of flaming red, night black, and electric blue with the corner of his sight. Looking in that direction, he saw three very familiar men, grinning at him, weapons at the ready.

Vero Tear ran for his life.

 ** _Oooooh yeeeeeaaaaaah! It's soooo nice to be evil! Now, you might know already but let me introduce the people. They are the "alternative versions of Remnant" of three Writers. Zeke Phoenix is LordHellPhoenix. Khorevis Argento is Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh (me)._** ** _BlōdFȳr RedNight is lordrednight._**

 ** _And we all enjoyed beating Vero down._**

 ** _Next chapter: You Seriously Fucked Up. Self-explanatory, plus a bit of Jaune-Ruby talk since there has been very little thus far.  
_**

 ** _So now that I'm happy about having managed to post the Omake, bye bye!  
_**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _A very happy and evil Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	9. You Seriously Fucked Up

**_Whew, the chapter's here. I know I broke my streak but yesterday I helped a friend of mine. Someone copied part of his story and used it as their own. That's called plagiarism. I think we solved the issue, but it took up a hour or so. Plus this morning I had to cook breakfast for everyone, so no writing Extension. Anyway the book I'm translating is going well. It has 24 chapters and I'm doing 1-a-day. I did chapter 3 today and I should be able to keep up the streak. Then we shall see for my stories._**

 ** _Anyway, before I forget (I was almost forgetting it...) these are the team names: NBLS (Nebulous, former), JWVL (Jewel, former), CRDS (Cards, present), ABRYL (April, former), ARBYL (Arboreal, present, suggested by Alvelvnor), TTNN (Titan, present, OCs), RGGE (Rogue, present, OCs), MTOR (Meteor, present, OCs), ARTR (Arthur, present, OCs), DRGN (Dragon, present, OCs) . Not all these OC teams are going to really appear, let's just say that they are there in Beacon. And no, Team TTNN won't plan revenge on Jaune. They will disappear from this story. Expelled/MIA/KIA._**

 ** _EDIT: due to reviews pointing out how Vero's punishment was literal rape in the first 'draft' of this chapter (and the reviewers were fully right so no raining hate on someone who just pointed out the truth), I decided to change his punishment into something else. Hope you enjoy the change, and forgive me. I do not condone rape, I just tried to make some humour out of Goodwitch's little perversion, and I overstepped several lines._**

 ** _Also, for the ones among you who thought that "You Seriously Fucked Up" meant that Vero was going to beat down Jaune and/or Ruby, don't worry. It's Vero the one who fucked up.  
_**

"Look who we have here," Vero Tear grinned at them as he nonchalantly strolled toward them. "The pathetic weakling and the fuckable loli."

"Jaune beat you," Ruby pointed out.

Vero's eye twitched in annoyance, or maybe that was just his face recalling the wrecking it got just a few days prior. Either way, the twitch passed almost as quickly as he had come. "Such a sharp tongue, little loli-"

"She has a name, and it's Ruby," Jaune pointed out.

"- _little loli_ , a tongue I'll have to keep busy later," he continued, ignoring Jaune's interruption as if nothing had happened. He stopped walking and his grin widened. "I prefer to be the dominant one during sex so-"

"You know, it's really rude to speak over someone." Ruby pointed out.

"-as I was saying, I like to be the dominant one during sex so I'll have to find a way to shut her up," he forcefully spoke over Jaune, raising his voice. "I'd hate to hear those snappy comments while I am fucking your brains out-"

"I think you'd just tickle her with what you've got downstairs," Jaune pointed out.

"-so I think I'll just gag you. Or maybe I could strangle you, I've heard girls make wonderful choking noises," Vero went on, starting to get angry, especially since neither of them looked worried, while they should've! He was Vero fucking Tear! They should've been afraid of him! "But I don't like having spectators so I think the weakling-"

"The name's Jaune. And I can definitely say it's not a pleasure to meet you," Jaune pointed out.

Vero gritted his teeth in anger. "-will have to be taken care of. So, if you don't mind, loli, I'll just kick his ass out of here," he basically growled. Totally not cool. "Who knows, then maybe you'll even introduce me to the girl you call sister-"

"Because Yang _is_ my sister, duh," Ruby pointed out.

"-that is obviously not your sister as you are just an object-"

"I'm pretty sure she's more of a person that you are," Jaune pointed out.

"-that has a pretty face-"

"As opposite to yours, that I'm pretty sure looked better broken," Ruby pointed out.

"-and-"

"Do you think he had an accident before, and when I broke his face I actually set it right again?" asked Jaune.

"You-"

"That is actually a good question, you know? I don't know…" Ruby thought about it.

"I-"

"Should we tell him why we aren't scared?" Jaune inquired.

"Why-"

"Nah, let's allow him to find out by himself," shrugged Ruby.

"You-"

"Hey!" Vero turned around at the shout, and he barely had time to think _'Not again'_ before a fist slammed into his nose, breaking it. _Once more_. When the stars cleared from his vision, he found himself facing Yang Xiao Long, Sky Lark, Blake Belladonna, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie -he shuddered at her grin-, Weiss Schnee, and Pyrrha freaking Nikos. All with their weapons on them, and in their combat outfits. That was _not_ good.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed. "I was about to score with the loli!"

Yang made a sound that was more beast than human as she tried to grab the miserable bastard, but Sky beat her to it. "You were picking on the both of them. As such, I think we are fully entitled for everything we are about to do," he grinned evilly. "And believe me, we can do _many_ things…"

Vero frowned before yelping as someone -probably Jaune given the size of the hands- shoved him forwards. He didn't even have time to activate his Semblance before Yang's hand was in his face for the second time in just under twenty seconds. A new record. One he really hadn't wanted to set.

He tried to fight back by activating his Semblance, but that turned out to be a very bad idea as Yang just grabbed Pyrrha's shield, startling the shy redhead, and shield-bashed him in the face. Despite all his skill, Vero Tear was still just human. No one can win, unarmed, against seven armed people. His Semblance held on… only for the first strike. Ren swept his legs off him, and then Blake stomped -with her heels- him right where it hurt them most. His eyes bulged out and he wailed in agony as the girl viciously dug her foot between his legs. Aura or no Aura, Semblance or no Semblance, he still felt that hit, and he still completely lost his focus.

With an imperious huff, Weiss strode forwards. "I don't care if you think you can do whatever you won't, that idea ends today," she said as she flicked Myrtenaster at him, Ice Dust activating and encasing his legs and arms in ice. "Jaune may not be my leader any more, and he's not who I would call a friend. I guess that he is only the lesser of two evils," she stated, making Jaune grumble. "But despite his faults I know he is a good person at heart, something that can't be said for you." She stepped back to allow Yang to continue her beating, but not before shooting a glare at Jaune. "And don't take this as a compliment. I was just stating a fact."

With a mad grin that matched Nora's, Yang sat on Vero's chest and grinned down at him. He scowled and activated his Semblance again, but again it was broken. This time by Nora, who jumped with both feet on his stomach. All air was robbed from him as he gasped, but the short ginger didn't stop there. She began making some weird kind of mini-dance that apparently included a lot of stomping around. Vero tried to tell her -quite rudely- to get off, but Yang beat him to it.

Or, well… she just beat him.

A punch connected to his cheek, forcing him to turn even as Nora cheerfully continued to 'dance'. Jaune and Ruby had disappeared, probably to avoid Ruby to see what was probably going to be a very brutal beating, and Pyrrha was standing behind, a little unsure on what to do but appearing satisfied with how Vero was being beaten. Sky and Blake high-fived each other, while Weiss and Ren exchanged nods of approval.

The trapped boy managed to free an arm and punched Yang with all the Aura and strength he could muster. The blonde's head jerked to the side, accepting the punch, and when she looked at him again her eyes were red. He had the inkling his hadn't been a smart move. "Thanks for the power-up," she grinned. "But I think this ain't gonna be enough. Sky~"

The mentioned boy sighed before drawing his halberd and repeatedly slashing at Yang's exposed back. Yang grinned at every hit while Vero just looked at her as if she were a masochist. That was pretty much how the scene looked. Sky delivered one last hit before he bent over and gently kissed her neck. "Here. Kiss it better."

Yang snorted at the joke. "You just wanted to kiss me."

"I'm not gonna deny the obvious truth," he boy shrugged nonchalantly.

Yang's cheeks gained a very light red tint and she quickly distracted herself by looking back down at Vero. He was still staring at her strangely. "Well, this is what I call a power-up," she exclaimed as she readied a punch. "You'd better say goodbye to your nose's straightness. It's never gonna be straight again."

"Stop! Ms Xiao Long, Mr Tear, Mr Lie, Ms Valkyrie, Ms Nikos, Ms Schnee, Ms Belladonna, Mr Lark, what is going on here?" They all looked up to see Glynda Goodwitch storming over to them. "Why is Mr Tear being held in such a manner, and why does he appear to have been hit already?"

Yang froze with her fist drawn back, but before Vero could speak, Weiss intervened. "Tear was trying to bully Jaune and Ruby, and was also trying to force himself on the latter," she stated flatly.

Goodwitch looked back at the teens with a thoughtful expression. "I changed my mind, Ms Xiao Long," she commented pensively. "Hit him."

Yang and Vero exchanged looks. "Wh-" _Whack_. She punched him.

"Now, if you may, get off Mr Tear. Your position is highly unbecoming," Goodwitch ordered imperiously, and the younger blonde sighed as she had to move. Vero groaned as Goodwitch freed him from the ice, and stood up with a curse. "Mr Tear, I did warn you not to mistreat the other students. You will be _punished_ for this."

Unheeding of her angry tone, he dusted himself off and glared at the other students. "You-"

"Please, Mr Tear, come with me in my office. We must discuss your punishment," she grinned as she gestured him to follow her. All the students followed her as well, curious about Vero's punishment and a little sadistic themselves. They soon arrived to Goodwitch's pretty bare office. There was a desk, a chair behind said desk, three couches before it, two bookshelves, and a window. Oh, and the door. Not even a carpet, not even a painting on the wall. The bare minimum. "Now, Mr Tear, if Ms Schnee's words are true, then your actions toward young Ms Rose are purely out of lust and high sexual desire. Well, then I guess that as your professor, I must take care of that problem."

All the students gaped at her as she slowly pulled Vero toward her desk. All the students, except for Vero himself, of course. "Banging you? Mmh, well, I guess you _are_ indeed ho-WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?!"

Glynda smiled as she held up the DVD folder. "Dear, this? This is one of my latest 'detention items'," she said with a vicious smirk as she used her Telekinesis to bind Vero to her chair, turning him to face her laptop. "Professor Peter Port's complete porn series, starring quite a few partners and _every possible sex position_ known in this world. I hope that'll help you cool your raging hormones, young man."

Heedless of Vero's cries for help, all the other students fled the room with crimson faces and horror in their eyes.

/-/

Jaune chuckled malignly as the screams began anew. Oh, they would go on for quite some time. He knew Auntie Glyn wasn't one to be satisfied easily, especially when it came to 'punishments'. He had been unfortunate enough to walk in on her once, and he had been branded for life. But that horror now only fuelled his amusement as he heard Vero's shrieks for help.

Not like he would regret sicking his aunt on him. Vero deserved it.

"What's so funny?" Ruby asked from beside him.

The two of them were sitting on a bench in the courtyard, practising one of any teen's favourite hobbies. Doing absolutely nothing. Or rather, doing some small talk -or long talk, if one had to be honest- and just lazying around. While both of them weren't indolent, from time to time everyone enjoyed taking a small break and just relaxing somewhere, or talking with someone. For them, it was also a very good opportunity to get to know each other better. The whole 'soul linked' thing was still new to them, so they guessed they should've at least known something about each other. Linked souls and barely friends? No, that couldn't last. They would need to become BFF.

The sky wasn't sunny nor cloudless. Vale had a warm climate, but also a rainy one, especially at the start of October. Boring grey clouds covered the sky. They weren't the cheerfully white ones nor the majestic black ones that rumbled with thunders and rustled with winds. No, they were the boring grey ones that kept the heat from reaching the ground, and sometimes poured down a fine hail of water that slowly but surely drenched everything. Nor glorious lightning ripped through the sky, no imperious -Weiss-like, then- thunder imposed its rule over the silence. No, just a damn cold day with a grey sky that was just plain boring.

The two of them had exchanged their uniforms for something a little bit warmer. Deciding to humour Ruby, he had taken with him a heavy white cloak to match hers, not noticing the look in her eyes when she saw it. He had also worn a white sweater with grey rhombus, foregoing his hoodie for something warmer. Instead of his jeans -that honestly didn't keep him much warm- he had chosen a grey pair of warmer pants. He didn't mind the absence of colour on his person, though. His now very peculiar gold-and-crimson hair and blue-and-silver eyes held more than enough colour for him.

Ruby had kept her cloak, of course, but had decided that wearing a skirt on a cold day just wasn't going to work. She had exchanged that and her tights for some black leggings. Not warmer by much, but enough to endure the weather. Instead of her corset -that was one piece with the skirt and so had to be discarded- she wore a black shirt under a crimson jacket to go with her colour theme. Although she still didn't know what to do of her golden locks. She had been told that blue eyes went well with red hair so that wasn't a problem, but the gold disrupted her whole colour theme. She'd have to find a way to add it to the theme, since it wasn't probable for her hair to turn back red.

The two of them had been surprised by the rain in the courtyard. It wasn't a strong hail of water but it was bothersome, so they had taken refuge under one of the many -useless- archways that punctuated Beacon. The two of them hadn't even gotten damp, luckily, but now they were staring at the falling rain, waiting for it to end.

It was Ruby who broke the silence.

"So…" she began hesitantly. "Since it appears we're kind of blocked here, why don't we get to know each other? Like… what's your favourite colour?"

Jaune blinked and rubbed his neck. "Err… I haven't really thought much about it. I mean, I like all colours," he confessed awkwardly. "But if I had to choose, I think I'd choose white, deep blue and gold."

"Your Aura colour, your natural eye colour, and your natural hair colour," snickered Ruby.

"Hey, wanna talk about yours?" he grumbled, crossing his arms. "Wait, let me guess: red and black."

Ruby showed him the tongue. "That was too easy. Your turn."

Jaune sighed before chuckling as he played along. "It's been quite some time since I last played 'get to know you'," he laughed. "There's not really much time for friendship when you travel around… let's see, why a scythe as weapon?"

She sobered up at the mention of her beloved -and gone- baby. "Many reasons," she shrugged lightly. "I mean, it was cool, it went along well with my physique, it's also Uncle Qrow's weapon, and it's original. What's more to like? And what about you?"

Jaune sombrely looked at the rain. "Before forging this I used Crocea Mors, a family heirloom," he explained with a sigh. "You've seen it already, it's not all that special. My family didn't really have the money to buy me an advanced or complex weapon, we were still settling down. So I just took the family heirloom." He was silent for a second, probably thinking about something related to the sword. "As for my current weapon, I just went with what Jekyel told me. I am a good metalworker, but I don't really know much about weapons."

Ruby giggled. "I do. Although I don't think I'd be able to forge a solid sword like your Crocea Mors. Too little strength in these arms," she said as she held up her arms. "Did he tell you why he chose those?"

Jaune shrugged again. "He said that despite my strength he didn't think I'd be good with a heavy weapon. I don't think something like sabres are gonna fit me, but he was right when he said that a bow would fit me better. I still think I should modify it, but I don't know what would happen to you if I did so…" he finished lamely, slumping a bit.

"Well, we can try," she replied cheerfully. "I guess it's my turn now, right?" She hummed thoughtfully. "Why do you want to be a Huntsman?"

That seemed to be the wrong thing to ask. Jaune's eyes lost part of their light and he looked away, at the rain, while his entire body just slumped. "It's… complicated," he said softly. Ruby tilted her head to the side, waiting for him to explain further. "I've always grown up with stories of heroes. And up until a few generations ago, my family -the Arc Clan- had always been a lineage of warriors. All thorough my childhood, I was told stories of heroes defeating villains and protecting people. I always loved them. I wanted to become one of those heroes."

Ruby nodded along. More or less her very same reason. She too had grown up with fairytales.

"But my parents weren't Hunters. My father was a smith and my mother was a shopkeeper. And to be honest, none of my sister ever really showed interest in becoming a Huntress. And given that my mother and I travelled for ten years before settling down, I never really had a chance to attend a combat school. As you know I've been accepted into Beacon as a special student…" She nodded. "I so wanted to become a Huntsman and yet up until now I never got the chance. Plus my family has never really been rich, so I couldn't even afford a private trainer. Long story short… For years I've thought how unfair the world was. I wanted to become a Huntsman with all my heart and yet I had no way of doing so. I wanted to help people, why did I have to be denied that?"

"But now you're here," Ruby pointed out.

Jaune let out a breath of hot air. "Yes. Yes, now I am here, but… I'm here by chance. Not by skill, nor by money… Hadn't Glynda been my aunt, Beacon would've never known of my existence," he continued wearily. "So I'm not sure any more if I want to be like in the fairytales. The hero always only needs hope and will, but hope and will didn't do anything for me, so maybe I'm just not the hero. And now I'm just… trying to find another reason for being a Huntsman."

"Well, I'm sure you'll find one, and it'll be a good one!" Ruby exclaimed cheerfully, but she inwardly winced at having touched such a sensible subject. "As for me… well, now that I've heard your reason I feel a bit silly at telling mine because it's more or less the same. I wanted to help people like in the fairytales, I wanted to make the world a better place. I knew the world wasn't fair but it never really stopped me from training. I always had the means to train close at hand. I always had the will to protect others, so it's just that."

"Don't let my glumness affect you as well," Jaune gave her a half-hearted shrug. "Besides, I'm here in Beacon now, right? I just have to survive until graduation. It won't be easy but hey, unless Ozpin gets another crazy idea and hurls us in the Emerald Forest _again_ , I should be able to make it."

The two of the shared a chuckle at that. "So…" she said. "Your turn?"

Jaune chuckled again. "Oum we're so bad at this," he commented. "Well… what's the thing you'd like to learn about most in the world? I know this is a very private question, let's change it… something you'd really like to learn about?"

"Sex." He choked and sputtered, turning crimson red, at her flat response. "I've caught the word a few times but Yang and Dad always refused to explain anything, and kept me away from anything or anyone that might've explained me what 'sex' is. So yeah, I'd like to know about this big mystery of 'sex'."

Jaune looked at her with a mix of disbelief and shock. "You don't know what sex is?!" he whisper-yelled. "No one ever taught you?!"

Ruby blinked innocently. "That's what I said, yep," she replied plainly. "And what about you? What would you like to learn?"

Jaune coughed into his fist, trying to dispel Ruby's earlier words. "Well, I…" Many things came to mind. Like fighting. He could really use some knowledge of fighting, especially since he was going to attend Beacon. He had learned the basics of flirting, like 'pick-up lines are all crappy' or 'trying too hard just doesn't work', but he wouldn't mind learning more. But those were boring to bring into a conversation. He'd need to find something else. "I… I've always wanted to learn serious mechashifting smithing," he admitted. "I mean, I know a little bit of it and even when designing Rubis Solaire Auntie Glyn helped me. It's just… I've always found so cool to be able to forge mechashift _and_ fullmetal weapons."

"Fullmetal?" asked Ruby. She had heard the term somewhere. "Isn't it like, the opposite of mechashift? Like Crocea Mors's sword, forging without machinery. Just full metal."

"Yes, it's exactly that. Since mechashift is so famous they coined a new word for the normal forging. I'm a fullmetal smith," he nodded, confirming her guess. "I know fullmetal weaponry and armour is far more durable and 'reliable' than mechashift as they can't get stuck or be broken easily, but I've always wished I could learn some mechashift smithing. At least to see how it is to piece weapons together instead of moulding them from raw metal."

Ruby giggled at that. "Dork. It's nice but it's not so awesome to build mechashift. The planning and the finished works are what are nice. No one likes to just piece the weapon together, taking care not to displace anything," she smiled broadly, showing him her new Scroll. "Look, this is a mechashift weapon I designed yesterday during Port's class."

"Is this…" He looked closer, just to be sure. "A triple-bladed sword? Who would even be able to use that?"

"No one, but it was nice to draw it," she replied cheerfully. "Besides, at least I practised mechashift designing instead of just dozing off like most do. What did _you_ do?"

"I was studying Dust, if I have to be honest. I still think that my mistake in confusing Wind Dust with Air Dust shouldn't have costed me an entire point. So I want to learn." He pouted for a second before he realized something. "Wait, you said you design mechashift. Does that mean you also forge mechashift?"

Ruby nodded enthusiastically. "Yup!" she exclaimed happily. "My baby Crescent Rose was my masterpiece. A high-impact, customi-"

"-zable sniper rifle installed on a scythe," completed Jaune, and the two of them had a second laugh. "Yeah, I noticed. I'm sorry for stealing it, though…"

"Eh, I loved him but I value my life more," she shrugged off his apologies, although he could detect a hint of sadness in her voice still. "You had to take it in order to resurrect me. Although I still wonder how you could've resurrected me even after changing it so much…"

Jaune frowned. "Auntie Glyn says it's more of how I see it then how much I change it," he replied slowly. "That if I continue to see it as _your_ weapon, then it wouldn't matter even if I reforged it into a chair and used that." Ruby looked horrified by the idea, and he chuckled. "Although… if it's enough for me to _believe_ it to be _my_ weapon as well to use my Semblance, I was thinking…" He trailed off into silence.

Ruby waited a minute before poking his side. "What? What are you thinking?"

Jaune sighed and rubbed his neck once more. "I don't want to give you any false hope, but…" He sighed again and shook his head. "During the fight against Vero, I used Crocea Mors, and yet nothing happened. So if I were to reforge Rubis Solaire into Crescent Rose, give it back to you and use Crocea Mors once again… you'd have your weapon back, but my Semblance would still hold on. I didn't see you die when I unsheathed Crocea Mors." He winced at how harsh his words were, and tried to apologize, but Ruby stopped him.

"No. I mean, if you want to reforge it back to how it was before, that's fine but… I don't want it back." He looked at her, surprised, and she avoided his eyes. "It's not just that it's the price I have to pay for being reckless, it's… I _want_ you to have it. It wouldn't be right if I took it back. I could design and forge an identical weapon and be happy with it, but receiving Crescent Rose back wouldn't sit well with me. I just know that." He opened his mouth to ask a question, but she beat him to it. "No, I can feel it's not your Semblance. Your Semblance feels warm and nice when it's related to something. This isn't it."

Jaune sighed again. "I still feel bad about it, though," he groaned before perking up. "Anyway, you said you forge mechashift. Could you teach me? I mean, if it's not a big problem, of course."

Going by Ruby's face, her birthday had just come. The fifth member of Team ARBYL -Goodwitch had finally flipped out and changed the name from April to Arboreal- was basically shaking with excitement, and Jaune almost leaned back. "Yes! I mean, no! I mean, it's not a problem, I'd love to teach you mechashift!" she exclaimed, almost jumping up and down Nora-style. "I've never taught anyone before, plus I love mechashift creation! What do you have in mind?"

Jaune smiled. "Well, as much as Jekyel can say that Rubis Solaire's current form is the right one for me, I disagree," he said with a grin. "With your permission, I'd like to reforge Crescent Rose. Although we'll have to be careful and stop if it hurts you. I might not be able to use it like you do, but a badass two-handed weapon is what I'd like to use against monsters that want to kill me."

If Ruby's eyes sparkled before, now they were positively glowing. "Of course you have my permission!" she squealed in enthusiasm. "And don't worry, you'll be able to fight just like I do! I'll make sure of that!"

"Ruby, I'm much heavier than you," he argued. "From what you and Yang told me, you use the recoil to jump or to send yourself flying… I can't do that."

"You can and will." She grinned eerily. "You just need a bigger gun." In a second, she was back to her usual cheerful self. "Buuuuut… you're gonna have to do one thing to pay me back."

"Anything."

"You…" She paused for drama before pointing her finger at him. "…are going to teach me 'sex'!"

Jaune didn't know if he should've face-faulted, sweat-dropped, passed out, blushed or just utter an acute squeaking noise. In the end, he opted for all of them.

 ** _All the ones who have laughed or cringed at Vero's punishment, please lift a hand._**

 ** _All the ones who have laughed at Ruby's "you just need a bigger gun", please lift a hand._**

 ** _All the ones who have laughed at Ruby's "...are going to teach me 'sex'!", please lift a hand._**

 ** _No, not really._**

 ** _Anyway, onto the true AN. This was so fun to write, especially the start and the end. Now, an Omake. This Omake has been generously donated by The Wizardrous Magicman, so thanks to them!_**

YOUR BODY, OR YOUR SPIRIT

"Oh, you made a BIG FUCKING MISTAKE, WIMP!"  
Vero rushed Jaune, tackling him against a wall. As his head was slammed against the perspex covering for a "HUNTSMAN REVISES Even aura users know it's worth it." poster, Ruby kicked out to destabilize the aggressing brute, and Jaune quickly seized the opportunity to shove Vero's head, in turn, into the cracked object-and then in a moment of glitching of Vero's semblance, through it.

"Oouuw..not again! I didn't even get to break Roman's baaaack..." Ruby moaned, as she was sucked into the poster. When suddenly! Out of the perched, brooding image fluttered what looked to be Jaune's mirror, only sporting a snazzy cape and eyemask, and a grey bodysuit.

"Cease citizen!" Squeaked Ruby's voice, oddly, "I'll bring this reprehensible rapscallion to justice! With my hunt-spray!" And from the huntsbelt, was produced a can, shooting what appeared to be silly string at the now-befuddled Vero standing neutrally a foot away from the equally-confused Jaune. "The hell are you doing? Fucking stop that, you freak!" Whined Vero, trying to bat it off.

"Aha! That foolhardy fearmongerer foibled and fell for my facade! Now he will face the fury of my Huntshammer, a hammer second only to the gavel of the law." And from the small of the back, was a rough copy of Magnhild deployed, only with a red H on the business end. It promptly smacked the now-untangled Tear upside the head, depleting his aura and mangling his face further into that of a frying pan shape.

"He's Mantle's problem now." Growled in Ruby's voice once more the Huntsman, wrapping the bully in the Huntscowl, which seemed to shrink-wrap around him. "Are you well, citizen?"  
"Yeah, I'm good now, Ruby." Jaune sighed.  
"Aww, Jaune! You're not supposed to say my name! I'm the Huntsman, remember?"  
"Okay, okay, sorry. *ahem* Thank you, Huntsman! Were it not for your chivalrous vigilance over this once-proud city, I don't know what we'd do!"  
"All in a day's work, citizen. Time to take this nefarious ne'er-do-well to the authorities."  
From the cloth-sealed imprint of Vero came "Ha hucker yur hoo hooing? Oi hill hot he hued hor hum hinky holehay HDFM hit hif hat hoover!"

"...Huh, that's just spoiled the mood. Let's just bring him to Goodwitch." Dejected Ruby, pulling off the Huntsman's face.  
"Yeah, sure. Want some help carrying him?"  
"If you wouldn't mind." "Hup!"  
"We can just do the roleplay when he's not around!"  
"Up we g-Wait, WHAT!?"

 ** _This is what Vero said: "The fuck are you two doing? I will not be used for some kinky roleplay BDSM shit with that loser!"_**

 ** _Again, The Wizardrous Magicman supplied me with the translation from Smotherese. I hope you enjoyed!_**

 ** _And this chapter concludes the Semblance Arc. Short? Yes. Also sweet and rolls off the tongue._**

 ** _Next arc: Ruby Arc._**

 ** _Next chapter: New Weapon. Come on, a more self-explanatory title is impossible to find. Anyway, Jaune reforges Crescent Rose (you can ask for a specific calibre, but I think that any calibre more than Ruby's .50 is light artillery) with a new gun feature to allow HIM to use the recoil. We'll probably also see him be sent flying by the recoil. Plus, Ruby forges another weapon (identical to Crescent Rose), 'cause she's tired of not having a weapon!_**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	10. New Weapon

**_Welcome to the Ruby Arc! Enjoy~_**

"So~?"

Jaune was blushing and sweating at the same time. Having no younger sisters meant that _he_ never had to give the Talk to anyone. Sure, he knew about sex, he masturbated and he had his fair share of Remnet searches -now erased- in his browser history. He also was pretty chill about it, not obsessed like some people he knew were. But nonetheless, that didn't mean he was ready to give someone else the Talk. "W-W-Why s-should I-I-I s-start?" he squeaked out, stumbling on each word. "I-I me-mean, w-w-why do-don't y-you hel-he-help me w-with m-mecha-sh-shift b-before I-I-I tell y-you a-a-about… _th-that_?"

Ruby tilted her head to the side. "Because I asked first, of course!" she grinned widely. "That's how it works. I asked first, so first you tell me what 'sex' is and then we make a baby for you!"

Jaune choked and coughed at her unfortunate choice of words. He _really_ hoped no one was around to hear of that, especially Yang or her family. Despite apparently being in the family himself, he had no doubts they would _not_ like to hear of the two of them 'making a baby'. He shuddered at the mere thought of it. Beyond all the immediate implications, growing a baby was _hard_. It was an ungrateful task you could _maybe_ be thanked for after _years_ of it. Sure, Jaune was also pretty certain it would probably be the most amazing task in the whole world… once he was ready for it! And why the hell was he even thinking about that when he needed to find a way out of that conversation!?

He coughed some more, with Ruby's earnest hand patting his back sympathetically, before he could utter another word. Her expression was sincerely worried about what she'd done or said wrong. "Is everything okay?" she asked, concerned.

"It's… I'm fine…" he croaked out, managing to regain his voice. He still needed a few deep intakes of breath before he could speak normally again, but Ruby seemed okay with waiting, satisfied with knowing he was okay. Besides, the rain was still keeping them under the archway, so they couldn't have opted to design his weapon instead of talking about _that_ without getting wet first. He shuddered again. _'Stop the innuendos, Monty Oum, or I might just die of heart attack,'_ he thought with horror. "I was just… taken off guard by your… choice of words. You know… the 'making a baby' part…"

Ruby tilted her head even more to the side. "Oooh, no I meant a weapon." She laughed. "You can't make a _baby_. The stork brings them."

Jaune's mind came to a screeching halt and for a second he just stood there, frozen in time, vainly trying to process what the _heck_ Ruby must've been told all her life. Then his brain rebooted and he whimpered, letting his head fall into his hands. "Why me? Oum, why? Did I do something _so_ horrible in my last life to deserve such karma? What did I do?"

"Err… Jaune?" Ruby was back to concerned. "Seriously, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay, and I'm going to have a _serious_ talk with your family about the lies they fed you for years!" he exclaimed, pulling at his hair. The shock was still there, as was the embarrassment, but now outrage and annoyance were rising as well. What kind of irresponsible family allowed someone to reach fifteen without knowing _anything_ about sex or 'baby-making'?! He understood that Yang probably never left her side, but Ruby could've easily have been approached by someone willing to 'teach' her sex and taken advantage of! "How can you _not know_ what's basically the reason you were born?!"

Ruby flinched at his loud tone of voice and he groaned, running his hands through his hair. "Just… just how much you don't know? Just how much am I gonna have to explain you?" he asked miserably. "Do you… do you know what males even have in the crotch area?"

"Sure I do!" exclaimed Ruby. "I saw Dad's… thing sometimes when I entered the bathroom and he was in the shower! Plus Yang has lots of magazines with naked people!"

Jaune paled. "Please don't tell Yang you told me this. Plus, I could've really lived without knowing of your sister's porn magazines," he whined as he hid his face into his hands again. "Oum, how could my sisters and my mother do this for every Arc child? How? _How_ am I supposed to do this?"

Ruby patiently waited for him to reappear from behind his hands.

"Fine. Here goes nothing. It's not like you knowing of sex would be any worse than you believing… whatever the hell they told you." He harshly took out his Scroll and opened a few tabs. "Here. Oumpedia. Medicine of Remnant. Alpha Knowledge. These should have all the info without… _much_ … obscene stuff."

Ruby blinked and sat right beside him to read from his Scroll. "Uhm…"

"No, you are _not_ just reading this. I am helping you," stated Jaune, killing his pride and opinion of himself with one stone called shame. "Oum only knows that if I don't, something will inevitably happen and somehow mess everything up. And that's the _last_ thing I need right now. So no alone reading, I'm helping you."

"Okay!" she chirped happily, although she was a bit confused about Jaune's embarrassment. She really didn't know why he was embarrassed. After all, it was just 'sex', right?

"First question, are you comfortable with talking about… I don't know… your genitalia?" He carefully avoided any informal word and stuck to the basics. Besides, he was pretty sure that had Ruby asked, her family would've used words like that.

Ruby turned a bright cherry red and brought her hands to cover said area even though she was fully clothes. "N-No…" she murmured with a mighty blush, looking away. _'Is he going to ask me to strip to show me!? I don't want to learn about sex, then! It's too embarrassing! Why would anyone want anything to do with my… how did Yang call it?… v-vagina?'_

"Thank you, Oum blessedmost!" exclaimed Jaune. "At least Yang won't kill me because you went around with no shame to ask and -specifically- do sexual-related stuff! Apparently there _is_ some luck for me in this world!" He sighed deeply. "Okay, now… do you know what its use is?"

Ruby was still very very red, as opposite to Jaune. He was just too resigned and miserable to even be embarrassed. He would probably scream into his pillow later that day, maybe even force Yang to do his homework for a week as payment for having fulfilled _her_ duty as big sis! But the screaming into his pillow was the more attractive option at the moment. "Well, 'genitalia' is a word that comes from an ancient language. The ancient word is 'genitalis'. 'Genitalis' itself comes from the word 'genit' that is the past participle of the verb 'gignere'. 'Gignere' can be translated as 'beget'. Do you know what 'beget' means?"

Ruby thought about it, but eventually nodded.

"In case you don't -no I am not taking any chance- it means to procreate, to conceive a child, to give birth to a child. So, if you have followed my train of thoughts, 'genitalia' is closely related to… 'baby-making'. I'm not explaining that right now." Jaune was pretty sure that, had Ruby blushed any harder, he would need to rush her to the hospital. "The same goes for males, since the word 'genitalia' can be applied to both genders. Now read this paragraphs, don't read more."

He handed her the Scroll. With a little bit of luck, he wouldn't need to explain _everything_ about it. Anatomy could be handled by those sites. Besides, he already checked them and they were safe. Maybe they could give her ideas but apparently she wasn't shameless so it wasn't a problem. Ruby avidly read the whole thing before giving it back. She still didn't appear satisfied, since he still hadn't told her about 'sex', but it was clear she was taking in what he had just given her.

 _'Please, Oum, I said no more innuendos!'_

"S-So… sex is a very general word. I am _not_ going to tell you of the _thousands_ way of having sex. I'm sticking to the basics. Girl on girl, boy on boy, girl on boy slash boy on girl. No threesome." Even Jaune's utter and miserable resignation had a limit, and he could feel a humiliating blush firing up his cheeks. "One of the most common meanings of sex is to stimulate the genitalia until orgasm is achieved. Just… just read this. I am _not_ going to tell you myself."

Ruby nodded and took the Scroll again, this time reading about something _much_ more interesting than anatomy. She had to stop reading twice, allowing the squeaking whines of embarrassment to slip free for a few seconds, before she managed to finish the section. "T-This is s-sex?" she asked hesitantly.

Jaune's face fell as he groaned. "No. No, not at all. But I'm gonna try to speed this up. We only have sex and impregnation to cover before I am finally free of this nightmare."

"It's not like we have anything else to do, right?" asked Ruby, pointing to the heavy rain outside. "It's raining so hard we are probably going to get _soaked_ if we as much as set foot out from under the archway."

Jaune cursed the gods of Remnant for having dropped such a burden on his unprepared shoulders. "Now… sex is basically doing _that_ to your 'partner', and I don't mean like how Weiss and I were partners. Your lover, your better half, your mate, your significant other, whatever. I mean that. Sex is doing that to each other… often in a particular way." He whimpered as Ruby seemed confused. "What you saw earlier was 'masturbation'. When you do it by yourself it's called 'auto masturbation' or 'self masturbation'. Masturbation is often part of sex but they are more used as foreplay… stimulation. Sex is a bit different."

"How so?"

"I am not really knowledgeable on same-gender sex. When the lovers are a male and a female, usually the male puts his… phallus… inside the female's… vagina." He could swear that, had he walked outside in the rain, the water would've boiled and steamed off his cheeks. "Err… read this!"

He hurriedly thrust - _'Oum stop!'_ \- the Scroll into her hands. She had to take way more breaks to breath before she finished the section, this time. She returned it very quietly, probably regretting ever asking about 'sex'. To be honest, Jaune knew that explained like that -in theory- was something no one would want to experience, while in practice she would've been no less blushing but way happier.

 _'No, Oum, don't you dare start with the dirty thoughts!'_

"Final argument is impregnation," he wailed miserably. At least it was almost over. He had taken Ruby's innocence already. _'Oum damn it!'_ "When a male's semen reaches a female's womb, and she is fertile -thus capable of becoming pregnant-, there is the chance for it to impregnate the female, and after around nine months, the baby is born."

He gave her his Scroll for what he fervently hope was going to be the last time. She quickly read the entry, although this time it was much less embarrassing. Humiliated, his pride shattered, his very opinion of himself six feet below the ground, shame and embarrassment having long taken over, resigned to his fate, Jaune Arc just waited for her to finish. _'Oum… you hate me, don't you? You must hate me…'_

Finally, the _extremely_ embarrassing subject had ended. Completely ended. Totally ended. It was over, and Jaune had the inkling he wouldn't be able to masturbate for a long time. Now it was time to build some mechashift awesomeness!

"Jaune… I do have a question," Ruby spoked up shyly. "Should I… 'masturbate' too? The site said it's normal…"

Jaune felt his hopes shatter.

/-/

"Okay, now take the higher slashing factor modifier and apply it to the upper half of the second blade section," instructed Ruby, and Jaune stared flatly at her. "Err… take that thing over there and use it on that thing over there."

"Thanks," grumbled the boy, doing what he was told.

"You have to learn how this stuff is called to learn mechashift!" protested the girl, turning back to her own weapon. "How do you think you'll ever be a mechashift smith if you don't even try to remember the components? The names are as important as the designing, the forging of the pieces, and the weapon itself!"

"Remind me who was the one who forged the pieces for _your_ weapon because you wanted it to be forged from the hardest metals and you weren't strong enough to work with them?"

"Hey, it was just a few pieces!" she pouted cutely, crossing her arms. "You are the fullmetal smith who works with raw metals. I just took the chance to make you… to make you practise with creating mechashift pieces so you won't have to go buy them!"

"That's a lie if I've ever heard one," commented Jaune before his 'weapon', still unbuilt, refused to accept the piece he was trying to attach. He frowned and tried again. "You were just being lazy."

"You have no proof of that," she retorted, showing him the tongue. "Besides, I don't see the problem."

"Neither do I, it's just the truth," he quipped back, and they shared a chuckle. His soon turned into a strained growl as he tried to force the piece into the weapon, but vainly. He removed it and examined both the component and the already semi-assembled weapon. "How are you doing over there?"

"Eh, pretty fine, I remember Crescent Rose's design by heart." Ruby giggled sheepishly. "Not like I'm obsessed with it, of course, it's just that… I loved my b-… my weapon!" She blushed as she wisely chose another word. "And what about you? How are you doing?"

Jaune shrugged. "Eh, as amateur I don't really know," he replied nonchalantly, but inwardly he was slightly angry. _'Why won't it damn fit? I am following Ruby's instructions precisely, why can't I just manage_ _ **something**_ _right?!'_ "This isn't the simplest of weapons, though. Are you sure I need that many modes?"

"Most of them are really solid or good for heavy hits, and I'm pretty sure that's your style. You are not slow but you don't exactly allow the weapon to drag you after it like Nora or I do. You aren't the best in hand-to-hand so it's better not to give you something like Yang. Sword and shield seemed fine…" she trailed off as she noticed his anger, and slowly stood up. "Then I just… added on top of that, I guess?"

"The shield is fine, but the sword? Sword, katar, spear, scythe and bow. Nothing else? It's kind of overkill, don't you think?" He growled under his breath as he examined the components again, and tried once more. "But anyway having _more_ modes never hurts. As long as no one steals my weapon, that is – will you connect, you damn-"

"Problems?" asked Ruby from over his shoulder. He jumped, startled, and the pieces fell. With a heavy sigh full of anger and strain, he picked them up again. "What's wrong?"

Jaune gestured to the component. "I can't manage to attach it," he explained, irritated. "It's like the central gun barrel is too big to fit between the side ones. But I followed your instructions down to the last detail…"

Ruby examined the barrel and hummed as she scrutinized the rest of the components. "You are right, this barrel is slightly too large. Not enough to be immediately visible but enough not to fit," she nodded. "It'll have to be reforged. Thankfully you didn't force it in or it could've ruined the whole central gun mechanism."

Jaune wanted to growl in anger. He wanted to grumble in irritation. In the end, he just sighed deeply and took back the component without a word.

Ruby glanced at him and immediately recognized his mood. She had been in similar fits of moodiness when she had first begun to practise mechashift, fits due to the false belief that she had messed up once again and that she could never do something right and that she sucked at it. That had usually been her train of thoughts, and now it was time for her to be the one to drag him out of it. "Good job at spotting the mistake, that takes a keen eye," she complimented, although it wasn't completely true. Even an idiot would realize that something was wrong when the component just didn't fit. "You're on a good path to become a mechashift smith."

Jaune didn't reply, instead standing up and going over to the forge to create a new gun barrel. Ruby grabbed his arm to stop him, and made him turn. "Hey. Your only mistake was putting too much trust in _me_. You didn't think I could do something wrong in this and so you discarded the idea of it being _my_ mistake," she stressed the word. "If anything, I should be honoured. You think so highly of me that you don't even think I can make mistakes. Although that's not right, I make mistakes every time. This is your first time building a mechashift weapon, and as you said it's not the simplest. I guess I went _way_ overboard with it, but you're doing it. There's nothing to be ashamed of in not doing everything perfect immediately."

Jaune looked at her, blue and silver into silver and blue, and then sighed again, but this time irritation was leaving his body. Not all of it, but at least some of it faded. "Thanks Ruby. You're good at this," he nodded at her before turning again and going to the forge. He took off his shirt as he neared the fire, and threw it on the table.

Unbeknownst to him. Ruby's gaze remained fixed onto his bare back, and the girl sported a prominent blush on her cheeks as she tried not to let her mind wander to what he had taught her about.

/-/

"I'm bored…" lamented Yang as her new team, Arboreal, wandered aimlessly in the halls. "I'm so so so bored… I am _so_ bored. I-"

"We got the message, Yang," Blake interrupted, glaring at her. "Now could you please stop being so loud?"

"It's not like I am distracting you from something," rebutted the blonde, showing her the tongue. "Who wants to go to Vale for the rest of the afternoon? Ruby's and Jaune's Scrolls' ASS locate them both in the forge."

The ASS, or Academy Status System, was a very useful -if poorly named- app of their Scrolls. With it, they could see their friends' status such as position within the school, Aura levels, health condition -whose only levels were Healthy, Injured, Critical, Dead- and a few more details. Unfortunately, the locating system could not work outside the school, so if they were to go to Vale, they would be able to see Ruby's and Jaune's position in the forge, but they wouldn't be able to see their own.

Blake sighed at the name -she had the inkling Goodwitch had chosen it- and shrugged. "I might use that chance to visit the library," she stated plainly. "Beacon seems not to have… my favourite _literary genre_. I shall search in Vale's public library."

"If you want to go search for your smut, I'm not gonna stop you," grinned Yang, making her blush deeply. "What about you, Sky? You wanna follow Blake to read of pervert ninjas doing the do upside down hanging from the ceiling with _very creative_ uses of katanas, wires and limbs? Or do you wanna have fun in a club or something?"

Sky coughed in embarrassment at the mental image Yang brought up. "I guess I'm coming with you to a club. I'm not overly fond of reading, if I have to be honest."

"Mind if we join you?" They all turned to see Team ARTR walking up to them. "We overheard your offer. We could all use some carefree relax in Vale, so if you don't mind we'd like to tag along."

The four of Team ARTR hadn't talked much with them in the previous week, but they had been kind of supportive with Ruby and Jaune, and they had tried to deal with some of the morons who insulted the two. Tried being the keyword, as it's hard to deal with such behaviours. Every time they turned their backs, it would only continue.

"Sup," Sky greeted them.

"Hey," Arthur replied back, speaking on the team's behalf. "So? It's not like our team has anything to do. Plus Ruby and Jaune aren't around so we aren't even needed as substitute bodyguards." He grinned cheekily at the three students of Team ARBYL at that jab. "Richard here knows a couple of clubs, so why not?"

"I'd rather go somewhere quiet," sighed Trayor Mordree, third member of their team.

"Oh, you can go with Blakey," offered Yang. "She's going to the library. But sure, why not? You can all join. It's not like you can't tag along because 'we are superior' or some bullshit like what other teams say."

"Like main characters and side characters?" asked Blake, always the bookworm.

Yang burst out laughing. "Yeah, sure!"

/-/

"Aaand done!" chirped Ruby, lifting her massive scythe once again. "What do you think?"

Jaune looked at her and at the weapon with shock. "I know I saw it already, but now it looks huge when compared to you. Are you sure you didn't get the measurements wrong? 'Cause that thing is taller than you are… basically twice as tall."

It was true. The oversized weapon was probably twice as tall as the petite redhead who wielded it. As opposite to his own weapon, Crescent Rose's design fully showed off the amount of mechashift needed to create it. Although he did notice that where the original Crescent Rose had been red and black, the new one was dark red and silver. His eyes widened when Ruby turned it around. Instead of red and silver, the other side was golden and blue. He glanced at the girl, who was smirking smugly, and took in her dichromatic hair and eyes. It made sense… kinda. Its colours also kinda clashed, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

"It's… wow… it's…" He racked his brain, trying to find an appropriate word. "I'd say it's definitely your weapon, despite the size. It's awesome."

She beamed at him. "I know! I'm not sure about the colouration but I can change that later on, I wanted to keep it in theme with… you know…" she gestured at her hair and eyes to emphasize the meaning. "But if I don't like it I'll change it back to red."

"Are you still going to name it Crescent Rose?" asked Jaune, returning to work on his own weapon.

"Yep," she popped the _p_ like she always did. "Although now that I think of it, Crescent Rose seems like the name of our emblems mixed, right? Double crescent and red rose. Crescent – Rose. Odd… but cool!"

Jaune chuckled. "I hadn't thought of that. Maybe you should be team leader."

"Ugh", she blerghed immediately. "No thanks. Before coming to Beacon I thought that being a leader would've been cool, but it's just boring and hard. You can keep the position, Mr Fearless Leader."

"One can always try…"

"Speaking of trying, how are you doing with your weapon?" she asked as she sauntered over to his table. The pieces laid scattered around, but the central part of it was mostly complete. He still needed to connect and attack the blades, insert a few support bolts, make the pommel mechanism and close the whole mechashift with armoured plates. Thankfully most of it was in the central piece, and the central piece never had to shift, so he could just make it a massively solid thing, as opposite to Ruby's scythe's fine machinery. Even after she had explained it to him, he still couldn't understand how that thing resisted hitting anything. It should've been barely solider than an origami. It _was_ basically a metal origami. "You're almost done! Wanna some help?"

Jaune shrugged and allowed her to drag a chair beside him. "You know, I'm pretty sure Yang would've had a pun about this," he noted, gesturing to the many pieces that were his weapons disassembled. "Something about you feeling like you're falling apart, or you being all over the place."

Ruby groaned. "Please don't try to imitate Yang's puns, they are horrible," she pleaded him. "I already have her and Sky with their mock flirting and sense of humour. It's horrible. Don't get added to the list, please."

Jaune laughed. "Right, sorry," he commented before looking back at the components. "Although… speaking of feeling bad, how are you feeling? Everything okay?"

Ruby nodded energetically. "I have no idea how, but even dismantling your weapon is not harming me in any way," she stated confidently. "At this point, I don't even know _if_ you can harm me by changing your weapon. And that's odd since this is _completely_ different from Rubis Solaire and you had to dismantle it all and reforge it… I guess our hypothesis was wrong, reforging it doesn't harm me…"

"Well, that's good to hear," Jaune sighed in relief. "It would've been kinda late to go back, wouldn't it?"

The two shared a chuckle while the worked. With Ruby's swift hands and helpful knowledge, it didn't take much before his new weapon was ready. Jaune ruffled her hair as thanks and picked up the weapon, standing up to examine it better. The colour theme had been suggested by Ruby herself, night sky blue.

The shield itself was a beautiful but simple matter, with an eight-point-star pattern that repeated itself multiple times. Jaune had wanted to make it flat so to copy Crocea Mors's shield, but Ruby had insisted for each star to protrude from the previous one so to give it more resistance. It made it heavier, but Jaune didn't mind the added weight. Then he looked at the sword and put the shield on the table to wield it two-handedly.

The sword was a bastard sword, or one-and-a-half sword, with fanged edges and two points. There was no proper hilt, as a hilt would've hindered the mechashift, but the blade itself guarded the hand. With a nod of satisfaction, he tried swinging it a few times, testing its balance as if it were a fullmetal sword. It was still good, despite all the machinery. Then he activated the first shift, and the blade split apart by the middle, revealing three barrels. The two to the sides were shotguns, but he had chosen to honour Ruby by using a high-impact sniper rifle for the middle gun. He nodded again and activated another shift.

The blades retracted and partially folded, while the pommel travelled up the handle to secure itself on the guard. The handle itself turned ninety degrees, lodging itself between the two blades, still acting as a handle. A single lock encircled his forehead for stability, and the three barrels almost double in length. Testing the new katar mode, Jaune frowned at the thought of how much training he would need to put into practising with all the modes.

Another switch activated, and the blades extended again, only to turn one-eighty degrees and bent backwards. He had gotten the idea when Ruby had told him of her uncle's sword-scythe shift. The barrels shortened again, and a string of white Aura connected the tips of the two blades. Lifting the metal bow, he summoned three Aura arrows, one for each barrel, and tried to take aim. Not bad, he had to admit it. Ruby was a genius when it came to weapons.

Only three left to try out. He activated a shift, and the bow collapsed back into sword, but then the handle lengthened into a pike's shaft, and he was holding a polearm. Again, he swung it a bit to test its balance. It was far from the first weapon he forged, but damn if it didn't feel good to try it out.

 _Thwack_!

Ouch. Okay, no more playing. Another shift split the blades apart, much like the first shift he had used, to reveal the barrels. Nothing fancy. _'Time to honour Crescent Rose,'_ he told himself. The final shift activated. A blade rotated and curved, much like in bow shape. The other folded like in katar mode, and rotated vertically, letting the blade run parallel to he shaft. The barrels were still visible, and he was holding a badass scythe. The scythe's blade was maybe a little thin, but he couldn't make it thicker without modifying the whole weapon.

Ruby was basically jumping up and down at that. "Oh my gosh try it! It's so cool!"

With a smile, Jaune flourishingly swung the scythe and took aim at a practice dummy. He pressed the trigger, and immediately two holes formed in the walls. One was due to the bullets going completely _through_ the practice dummy and through the wall.

The other was Jaune Soleil Arc Rose Xiao Long being flung back by the recoil and flying _through_ the opposite wall.

 ** _This was damn fun to write! Also, there's my brother looking from over my shoulder and... guess what... talking. -_-_**

 ** _SO! I have no time. Sorry if I won't reply to PMs today but my WiFi is going to be nil for a few days. WiFi problems... Argh..._**

 ** _This is the link to the new weapon. It's Cauchemar, still suggested by lordrednight. Check out my deviantart profile for the incomplete, but shadowed version. This has no shadows but has all modes. I didn't have time. As usual, remove the spaces_**

 ** _ht tps: (slash slash) www (d0t) deviantart (d0t) com (slash) khorevis/art/Cauchemar-Unshaded-771902463_**

 ** _Romance status: STILL! NOT! BEGUN! Wait until I tell you._**

 ** _Next chapter: New Life, New Feelings. No, no romance, just friendship, please._**

 ** _Until my brother stop talking,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	11. New Life, New Feelings

**_Heya everyone! SO! My friend Phoenix Warehouse Productions, aka Adrian from Remnants of Dimensions and Viewing Jaune Arc, the Elemental Swordsman. Long story short, he put on a poll on his profile, and I'm asking you guys to go and vote on that poll._**

 ** _As I said he's a friend. I already went and voted and I'm attaching a link to this announcement. All it'll take you is 5 seconds to choose, plus the page's loading time. Literally, it'll take a sliver of your time. So do me a favour, go and vote. The poll closes on the 1st of December so hurry up._**

 ** _This announcement will remain in next chapter's AN, so don't worry about this replacing the chapter._**

 ** _This is the link to my friend's profile (why does FFN ruin even inside links!?). Go and vote._**

 ** _h ttp s: (slash slash) www (d0t) fanfiction (d0t) net/u/2602698/_**

 ** _As for me, Khor... well, I feel fine. A little under the weather but otherwise fine. Enjoy this chapter. Mainly just shits'n'giggles, with an important ending._**

Ruby couldn't stop her giggles as she pried Jaune off a wall… for the third time that day. "Come on, let's try that again. Or maybe -I don't believe I'm saying this- we should lower the calibre, because if you fly like that with the scythe, using the katar mode will break your arm outright. Maybe we didn't need a bigger gun, after all…"

"Just stop talking," grumbled Jaune, forcing himself out of the wall and glaring at the reason for his plight. His new weapon, still unnamed, in scythe mode. He snatched it from the ground and returned to the shooting range once again. He almost had it, he knew it. He just had to learn how to handle the recoil. He had learned how to allow it to send him flying like Ruby said she did with her Crescent Rose, he only had to master how to remain standing. It shouldn't have been _that_ hard. "Let's go again."

"Are you sure? All these hits must be damaging your Aura…"

"Ruby." She looked at him, and his silver eye seemed glowing with rage. "I am going to try until I get the hang of it. I don't care how much time it'll take I am going to learn how to wield this damn weapon. There is no changing it now. I refuse to give up."

He stomped over to the shooting range and aimed before pulling the trigger. A boom and a second later, Ruby sighed as he imprinted himself in the wall once again. She didn't know what to do… it was like his whole stance was unstable. She would probably be unable to handle such a recoil, but he should've been able to master it in no time, especially given just how much stronger than her he was. She had seen it in the forge, he was definitely not 'weak'.

As Jaune hit the wall for the eleventh time that day, she grabbed his arm and stopped him from going back to shooting. "Jaune, stop, let's take a breather before you collapse, your Aura is taking a beating," she told him as sternly as she could. Which wasn't much sternly, but at least she did get her point across. "We'll continue later. Besides, I doubt you are enjoying hitting the wall so much. Why don't we take a break and do something else?"

The boy grumbled and pressed his lips together because sighing. "Whatever. This is getting nowhere, let's just give up for now," he agreed tiredly before popping his back with a wince. "Ouch. I guess Aura can only do so much… especially if I continue hurting myself."

He shifted his weapon back into sword and placed it at his hip before retrieving his shield from the shooting lane. With an awkward wave at the small crowd who had gathered up to look at him being sent flying, he and Ruby left the building. Luckily it wasn't raining any more, but Jaune's personal storm cloud over his head was more than enough to drag down the mood. His eyes were glued to his side, glaring daggers at the weapon that stubbornly refused to be wielded by him. When swinging in scythe mode, he had almost beheaded Ruby. In spear mode, he had almost beheaded himself. In katar mode he hadn't dared shoot for fear of the recoil, but he definitely wasn't used to it. And even in sword mode he wasn't all that good. For Oum's sake, when he had tried it against a training droid he had gotten his ass handed to him, and had received the message _'Please, do not fight while asleep'_. Whoever had come up with that message was an ass.

Seeing his mood, and knowing the reason for such mood, Ruby immediately went to the rescue… more or less. "So… have you already decided how to call it?" she asked innocently, pointing at the sword as if it was a mere sword and not the key for hell. Jaune was pretty sure it was the latter. "Have you thought of a name?"

"Honest, the only thing I've thought is that it's a nightmare to wield," he grumbled unhappily. He knew he wasn't skilled, but Auntie Glyn's 'secret' training should've done _something_ at least! He wasn't sure how cooking and cleaning would help him fight, but his Aunt had him do that all the time, so it had to be the key! "And that I may have found something I hate more than getting sick."

"It's not that bad…" Ruby trailed off when Jaune gave her a 'are you serious?' look. Well, to be frank, he was right. It _was_ that bad. "Well… then why don't you call it that?"

"Huh?"

"You said it's a nightmare to wield, so call it that," she offered. "Nightmare. You even have the right colour for it."

"Nightmare… Cauchemar." Jaune glared at the sword. "She doesn't deserve such a name, she's been a bad girl, but since she's the reason you're alive right now I guess I'll take Cauchemar." When Ruby looked puzzled, he shrugged. "It means 'nightmare' in one of the ancient tongues. My name too is in that language."

"Oooh, really? Mine is just a gem," she exclaimed. "What does yours mean?"

"Err… 'yellow', literally." He groaned as she giggled lightly. "Come on, I wasn't even the one who chose it! Not everyone gets a cool name or something! Besides, Yang's name literally means Little Sun Dragon! And Weiss means just 'white'!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to offend you," she continued to giggle. "It's just how you said it."

He sulked, and she laughed even harder.

"S-Sorry, you just c-can't pull off a sulking face," she apologized between laughs. "That w-was just ridiculous."

Jaune's expression darkened as he kicked a stray pebble into the garden. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he grumbled, irritated, stomping ahead.

Ruby stopped laughing and immediately berated herself. That was not something friend were supposed to do! She shouldn't have laughed at him, especially since he was already in a bad mood! Argh, she was terrible at social interactions. For whatever reason, Jaune was already in a very bad mood, he did _not_ need her ridiculing him over something he hadn't even had a say in. Sure, Jaune had taken it too personally but he could be excused, he was already irritated, while she couldn't because she just didn't consider the consequences of her actions! Okay, that wasn't completely true but it didn't matter. She had to think of a way to cheer Jaune up, and immediately!

Ideas went through her head, and were promptly discarded. The arcade? Better not to, it was in Vale and she wasn't sure if Jaune would've liked it. Beacon's library? They could read comics together! But… that would probably not solve the problem. Then… the gym? Jaune was basically the fittest -even if not bulkiest- student of Beacon since he never used Aura to enhance his body before so he had kept himself in shape with the normal methods. That was a good idea, but then again she would've been forced to work out too, and that was a big fat no. Plus she didn't really know if Jaune liked working out, he visited the gym every day but that didn't mean it would've been a good way to vent off steam. A walk in the park was among her ideas, but she had just ruined the one they had been having mere seconds before, so that was a no as well. Studying or doing the homework together? No, that would probably end up with her asking him to do her homework and him calling Goodwitch to get some of the answers. Homework was just so _boring_. Almost as boring as Professor Port himself, and that was saying much.

What else could they do? No arcade, no Vale at all, no library, no gym, no walk in the park, no studying or homework… what else did Beacon had? A sign on the Beacon grounds' map caught her attention. It was a building sandwiched between the forge, the training rooms, and the gym… the pool! Of course, that should've been the most obvious option! Jaune was awful at fighting so the training room were not an option, but the pool sounded great! Plus it was kind of warm, so it would've been refreshing. And even if there were other people it wasn't like Jaune had to be alone to vent off some steam. It was a perfect idea… if not that she didn't have any swimsuit. And she didn't think Jaune had any, either. Maybe Beacon had some swimsuits the students could borrow? It was worth a try. But not at the pool… Beacon was built right on a cliff that dropped vertically into a lake, right? She was _sure_ it would've been so very fun to take a break by swimming a little! The poll was for the spineless! Only invertebrates would be afraid of going to take a swim in Beacon's lake!

"Hey, Jaune!" she called out at the blond ahead. He sighed and turned around with a tired expression on his face. "I've got an idea! Follow me!"

/-/

"I seriously can't believe Sky actually left us here to go with Blake," huffed Yang. "Did I say something wrong? Or did I _do_ something wrong? It's just a club!"

Behind her there were all members of Team ARTR, who had had the misfortune to follow Yang right to their doom. They looked around for a few seconds before Richard actually worked up the courage to address the elephant in the room. "Err… Yang, you _do_ realize that _everyone_ here is pointing their guns at you, right? You aren't blind or something, right? Because we are a little worried here. We are _without_ weapons, we'd like not to get involve in any fight with civilians, and we'd like not to get pierced by a hundred or so bullets…"

"Oh, don't worry, they're friends," grinned Yang, taking a single step forwards. Immediately all guns were cocked and shots loaded. She dropped her smile and scowled at them, making them step back, some of them rubbing some still sore spots from the last time they had angered her. Thankfully, someone saved the day.

"Stop! Stop! Stop! Nobody shoot." A tall and burly man divided the crowd and looked at the girl. "Blondie… you're here. Why?"

"You still owe me a drink," grinned Yang.

"And _you_ still owe me the money for everything you destroyed and everyone you injured," he shot back, unamused. "And we're talking about several thousands Lien. I ain't serving you anything until you pay up, plus I'm pretty sure you are underage."

"Didn't stop you last time," retorted the girl, stepping forth, but she stopped when she caught sight of a woman behind the crowd of henchmen. Yang paled as she stepped forwards, meeting her with a hand outstretched. "Juniour, you… you hired… you hired a… a… a…"

"My name is Myn Xiong, Mr Xiong's cousin," she introduced herself as Yang continued to pale. The blonde looked behind her, but the four other students had seemingly turned into thin air, because she didn't see anyone. "I'm here to talk about the damages you caused to Mr Xiong's premise. I am a lawyer."

Yang let out a squeak.

/-/

"Still reading?"

"Yes Sky, this is a library, it's used for reading."

"There are also games." She glowered at him from over her book. "Okay, okay, don't give me that glare! I knew I should've gone with Yang. What's that book about, anyway?"

Blake felt her cheeks heat up. Of all the books in the library, why did he have to ask about _that one_? Oh, right, because it was the one she was reading. Hiding the cover didn't really matter when Sky didn't even suspect what the real content of the book was. Or maybe he did and he was just messing with her. In any case, she had to be quick and deflect the question, she-

"It's porn, I know, but does it have a story too?" he asked, appearing over her shoulder and peering at the book. Blake tried to close it, but unfortunately a second was enough for him to read some words. And some words were more than enough. "You know, you'd think that the serious and bookworm of the team would be into some normal stuff, and instead… I find you reading this filth. Seriously, you know no one on Remnant's got one that big, right?"

Blake's cheeks probably started steaming from that single comment. Sky had learned too much from Yang. _Far_ too much. "It's just a particular kind of literature," she replied stiffly, her shoulders so tense they might've snapped. "Just… different tastes."

"Plus I'm pretty sure a _gallon_ is almost four litres. Drinking or… _ejecting_ it would probably just kill whoever drank or _ejected_ it," continued Sky. "And if you put it _there_ , I'm pretty sure the poor girl would simply _explode_."

Blake blushed bright red and tried to hide the book, but Sky snatched it from her embarrassment-weakened fingers and continued to read. "And sorry to disappoint you girl, but no one -male and females alike- can go for… how many?… oh yeah, _six_ times in a row with no breaks. You'd probably die of dehydration," he commented mercilessly. "Plus-uh?" He looked down at his pocket and took out his Scroll, allowing Blake to take back the book. "Yes?"

 _"Sky?"_

"You called my Scroll, who were you expecting, the God of Candies?" snorted Sky. "What's up?"

 _"…"_

"Yang?"

 _"I… I got arrested, could you come and pick me up?"_

Sky almost dropped the Scroll in shock. "Wait a damn second, _arrested_? Yang, what the hell did you do?" he almost shouted in the mic, with Blake looking halfway between worried and I'm-about-to-laugh-my-ass-off. "Where are you? What happened?"

 _"I… I trashed a pub before coming to Beacon and I returned to that club today. They had a lawyer ready and they called the police. Beacon and my family will take care of this mess, but I need someone to pick me up at the police department. C-Can you drop by?"_

"Holy shit Yang, you sound on the verge of crying!" exclaimed Sky as he quickly gestured for Blake to get going. He could guess being arrested was a scary business especially since she was still just seventeen, heck _he_ would probably piss himself in her place, but hearing _Yang_ sniffle just felt wrong. As if something had just gone against the basic rules of the universe. Yang Xiao Long made _others_ cry, she did not cry herself. Understanding the graveness of the situation, Blake sat up and placed her book back on the shelf. "We're coming, we'll be there within the hour."

 _"Thanks…"_

"Don't even mention it, it can happen to anyone." To be arrested for trashing a pub? Well yeah, anyone who did something like that would've been arrested. Yang had been extremely lucky not to have been sued for the damage. Maybe because she had gone to Beacon immediately afterwards? Beacon _was_ what basically accounted as a stand-alone kingdom within Vale's continent. There were more than a civilian asking for Beacon's independence to be removed, not trusting a 'kingdom' full of superpower-wielding warriors with no direct loyalty to Vale's rulers.

Put like that, Sky could understand the worry.

He closed the call and hurried to the exit, ignoring the snickering Blake jogging behind him. Damn it Yang, why did she have to interrupt his lecture! He was about to change Blake's mind about those books. Maybe then she would've bought some _good_ smut books and he would've been able to 'borrow' them for a light read. But no, Yang had to go and get herself arrested, and now Blake was never gonna read near him again. Perfect. Just perfect.

"How the hell did she get arrested, anyway?!"

/-/

"No."

"But-"

"That's still no. You aren't moving from here, and that's final," stated Jaune, sternness in his voice, forcing her back down. When she pouted, he didn't even blink. "Nice try, Ruby, but as horrible as I am at sulking, I've practised my pout longer than you have. I'm immune to it. Not even you can move me."

Ruby's pout turned into a sulk and she crossed her arms over her chest. In doing so, her blankets fell, and Jaune was quick to lift them back up to her chin. She tried to grumble, but her throat ached and she swallowed her words back down. Since her pout had failed, she obediently opened her mouth for Jaune to feed her some hot soup. It just wasn't worth arguing over, plus it was both delicious _and_ warm. She hummed happily at the taste. Jaune was one hell of a cook. Or was he one heaven of a cook? Hell might've had good ovens and grills but wasn't hell a bad place? Surely they wouldn't serve such wonderful food. And that was a simple soup!

So Jaune was one heaven of a cook.

She quickly swallowed and opened her mouth for another spoonful. "W-What soup i-is it?" she croaked out, wincing as the words scratched against her throat.

Jaune fed her a few more spoonfuls before replying. "It's something Ren and I have been working on together for a while. It's supposed to go with noodles, but it can also be cooked as simple soup," he told her as he temporarily placed down the bowl and pressed a hand to her forehead. Sighing in relief, he retrieved the food and continued to feed her. "At this pace, you should be fine soon. But anyway, about the soup, it's mainly chicken, with a hint of curry, some meshed potato, and a few herbs and spices like oregano. Plus of course a little bit of salt."

Wow, from stuff like that he had cooked that wonder? Correction, Jaune -and apparently Ren too- was on another level altogether. Heaven probably couldn't afford someone like him.

A few more minutes passed in comfortable and delicious silence, until the bowl was empty. Jaune stayed by her side, although her aching throat prevented her from speaking. Devoid of conversation, he just fetched a couple of books for them. Thankfully not Blake's. The quiet lasted for a grand total of seven minutes and eighteen seconds before an upset Yang burst through the door, followed by a resigned Sky and an amused Blake. The currently red-eyed girl stomped over to her bed and threw herself on it, crossing her arms over her chest in mid-flight. A few seconds passed, and then Jaune decided to ask. "Err… Yang? What happened?"

Yang huffed, refusing to reply his question, but unfortunately for her Blake was ready to cut in. "Apparently, before coming to Beacon she destroyed a pub, and when today she went back, they had a lawyer ready for her." Everyone winced at that word. Only the Grimm weren't afraid of lawyers, and even they weren't sure. "They called the police and she was brought to the police department. Her family and Beacon will probably take care of that mess, but she'll still have to pay the several thousands Lien to the guy."

"That asshole!" exclaimed Yang from her position on the bed.

Jaune gaped at Blake, then at Yang. "You destroyed a _pub_?" he repeated, incredulous. "And you got away with that up until now?"

"That seems like a good short version," commented Sky, plopping down on his own bed. "But anyway, how did you two start playing patient and nurse?"

Ruby blushed and hid under the covers while Jaune sighed, this time in slight annoyance. "Ruby wanted to go swimming," he stated plainly. When the others just stared at him flatly, he continued. "We borrowed some swimming wear from Beacon's pool, since no one brings swimwear to school. But then Ruby got it in her head that apparently the pool was for invertebrates or something, and she dragged me down the Beacon cliffs to the lake."

"But isn't the Beacon lake filled with Grimm?" asked Blake.

"That's what I told her, Blake, but she wouldn't listen. We didn't even have our weapons, and you know that she's even worse than _me_ unarmed. Her punches _tickle_ more than hurt. Maybe she was planning on tickling the Grimm to death." Jaune shot an unamused glance at the hiding form of Ruby and tapped where he was pretty sure was her head. Her silver eyes appeared from under the blankets, and he grabbed a mug from the nightstand, handing it to her before turning to the others. "That's an herbal infusion, Ren made it. But anyway, guys, she ignored everything I told her and insisted. Before I could stop her, she dived straight into the water. The problem? Not Grimm… temperature." He gestured to the heavily covered Ruby. "It's October, it's not exactly _toasty warm_ now. She shot out of the water, shrieking like a banshee, and basically Semblance'd her way back up the cliff. Moral of the story, freezing cold water is _not warm_ , and she got a cold. A cold we're now tending to."

Sky and Yang started to laugh at their little story, while Blake was just smirking in amusement. Ruby punched Jaune's arm, but as he had just said her punches did nil. Jaune laughed and ruffled her hair, smiling mirthfully. "Come on, Ruby, you made the cake, now you're gonna eat it."

"T-This is not a ca-k-e," she rasped, trying her best to avoid hurting her already aching throat any more.

"Would it be any better if I promised you that, when you're healed, I will bake you a real cake?" offered Jaune, grinning as her eyes lit up so much they were basically illuminating her blanket-hooded face. "Salted caramel? I know it might sound weird but I can assure you, it's really good."

Weird? Maybe, but that didn't mean Ruby Rose wasn't getting that cake. If Jaune was as good of a baker as he was of a cook, then even a carrot and cabbage cake would've probably tasted good. She trusted him on that. Not wanting to scratch her throat, she just nodded energetically, ignoring the twinge of pain shooting through her temples at the quick movement. Then she focused her Aura and threw the covers aside, jumping out of the bed, magnificently glowing red as she tackled Jaune to the floor, hugging the life out of him. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" she squealed happily. "I want a _huge_ cake with _lots_ of caramel!"

Yang detached her sister and held her up in the air while the redhead flailed to try and continue hugging the poor boy, who hacked and coughed to regain her breathing. "Whoa, pulling the ill trick now, Rubes?" she asked cheekily, making the smaller girl blush in shame. "Why didn't you use your Aura sooner?"

"I knew something was wrong!" exclaimed Jaune, pounding the floor and earning a 'what's up?' from the inhabitants of the dorm below theirs. "Aura should've protected her from getting a cold!"

Ruby blushed further. "Well… Jaune was in a bad mood so I thought that maybe taking his mind off the problem could've helped," she replied meekly, poking her indexes together and looking anywhere but at her teammates. "Plus-"

 _"Please, may all students gather in the dining hall. Repeat, may all students gather in the dining hall."_

"Saved by the intercom, I can't believe it," sighed Yang, dropping her sister – coincidentally, dropping her on Jaune since he still hadn't regained enough breath to stand up. She ignored the two pained groans and marched to the door. "That was the Witch's voice, let's see what she wants."

/-/

"Do you have any idea of what she's about to talk about?" asked Sky, leaning ever so slightly toward Blake, probably the most intelligent of the group. The girl could only shrug helplessly.

Team ARBYL stood on the stage right behind Ms Glynda Goodwitch, who was patiently waiting for the students to arrive. They were in their uniforms, everyone was in their uniforms, and the only thing out of place in the colourless hall was Ruby's red cape, that she wore at basically all times.

Before them, Goodwitch's patience was finally rewarded as the last student entered the hall. She smiled slightly before brutally murdering said smile and hiding the body in the back of her body. "Good afternoon, students. I do hope you still remember Ms Rose, and her reason for being in the school, am I right?" Murmurs of confirmation went through the student body. "I am sorry to inform you that… we have lied to you."

Before anyone could speak up, Goodwitch continued. "Ms Rose is a normal person like any of you, not a so-called 'Avatar' of Mr Arc's Semblance. Actually, Mr Arc's Semblance does _not_ involve his weapon, but is a special kind of bond with his 'mark'. You will find the details on his BDSM's profile." A few snickered while Jaune groaned and face-palmed. Even his own team had small smirks, except for Ruby who just wore a confused expression. "Ms Rose is a young prodigy we have found after she prevented a Dust robbery led by the infamous Roman Torchwick. Unfortunately, the fight put her in a coma, and we had to ask Mr Arc to use his Semblance to help her out of it. The authorities believed her to be dead, and as such her name was added to the morgue's list. As you can see, she is far from dead."

She raised a hand to stop the oncoming questions. "We accepted Ms Rose into Beacon as a special student, but we had to solve the mishap with her 'death'. Enrolling someone reputed dead into Beacon would've raised many questions, and as such we came up with this decoy, to avoid political problems until we managed to solve the misunderstanding." She raised a few papers in a folder, confident that no student would've been able to read their true content from that far away. "We are sorry for having misled you into thinking Ms Rose to be the result of a mere Semblance, but it was necessary. We do hope you understand, but to clear any doubt, Ms Rose is a person like anyone else in here, with a soul like any other person."

Goodwitch's eyes then narrowed to slits. "But." With a single word, the atmosphere in the room froze and fled out of the hall in terror. All students looked at the wrathful professor. "I _did_ say that any mistreating toward her would be severely punished, and all thorough her permanence here in Beacon I have caught each and every insult hurled at her. And I am _not_ happy. As for your punishment…" She grinned, and Jaune could tell the students were about to piss themselves in fear. "I have talked with all the professors. All homework will be double for a month, and Professor Port has gracefully accepted to take over both Professor Peach's and Professor Ozpin's classes for the very same month. I hope you will learn from your mistakes, students."

The students gaped at her, paling rapidly. A few of the weakest-willed fainted. That was the end of the world…

 ** _Wow, that must be the cruellest thing I've ever done in all my stories..._**

 ** _Anyway, as you can see they didn't keep Ruby as Jaune's Avatar for long, just long enough for someone to mess up the morgue's list. Whoa, Ruby Rose is back to being officially alive, who would've guessed? And yes, now the students will know they have been harassing a person._**

 ** _But after all, who wouldn't like being lied to for some subtle decoy to avoid political problems? It's every teen's secret dream! So why should they protest? No reason! Wink._**

 ** _Romance Status: ...you won't be satisfied with a simple "Nah", will you? *sigh* Okay... Ruby's starting to notice Jaune a little more, but you'll have to wait still before she gets it's a crush. As for Jaune, not yet, he thinks she's pretty and nice to hang out with but nothing much._**

 ** _Next chapter: Thou Ain't No Cheat. Finally some good stuff! Obviously, Jaune is gonna tell Ruby about his trascripts, and of course Ruby will just nope it off. As for Cardin... he still hasn't understood Jaune is Goodwitch's nephew, has he? Well, maybe he will..._**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	12. Thou Ain't No Cheat

**_Hello everyone! Translation job, almost done! Well, I'm done translating. Now I gotta review what I've done to see if I've done any mistake._**

 ** _Also, due to a couple of reviews, I modified Chapter 9, Vero's punishment. Read the added AN and the changed part, please._**

 ** _But aaaanyyyyywaaaaaayyy... here you go. Wink._**

The two teams were sitting at their table in the cafeteria, finally quiet after fifteen minutes of continuous noise. Ruby was, as usual, sitting between Yang and Jaune, with Blake and Sky beside the blonde brawler. On the other side of the table sat Pyrrha, Nora, Ren and Weiss, in that order. The nine of them had finally, _finally_ got some quiet.

The previous fifteen minutes had been filled by the mumbled or stuttered apologies of many students who had sought Ruby out just to apology. A few of them had also been on the receiving end of Yang's fist, not something enjoyable, while most were just sent off without many problems. A few of the biggest pains in the ass were, ironically, the 'good' ones, who wailed on and on about how sorry they were for the misunderstanding, and they even _believed_ it. After Yang had decked a student for apologizing too much, people had begun to stay clear of them. A few had thrown written apologies, though.

Of the nine, only Ruby and Jaune had their weapons with them. For some reason, probably staff meeting about business or budget or whatever, classes had been cancelled that afternoon, something most students were incredibly grateful for, so the Linked two had decided to bring their weapons from Combat Class and hit the forge and the shooting range later. Ruby had a downcast and ashamed expression on her face while Jaune was merely looking halfway between amused by her pout and annoyed. While Crescent Rose was in compact mode on Ruby's back, Cauchemar was sitting on Jaune's lap in katara mode while the shield was on the ground, leant against his seat.

"There we were. In the middle, of the night."

"It was day."

Oh, right, not exactly silence. Nora was recounting one of her dreams, apparently, for the fifth time that week, and as usual Ren was correcting her. Normal stuff, really. "We were surrounded by Ursai." Again, Ren corrected the Grimm type. "Dozens of them!"

"Two of them…"

"Come on, Ren, don't be such a stick-in-the-mud," complained Sky, siding with Nora and earning an incredulous look from the ninja-like boy. "Who cares if she's exaggerating? It's fun! Come on, Nora, how did you defeat those Deathstalkers?"

"Deathstalkers?" Nora was silent for a second, taking in the new detail of her dream and promptly convincing herself _that_ had been her dream. "Oh, yeah, sure, there were also three Ancient Deathstalkers, obviously! I suplexed one! Then grabbed the second's stinger and used it as a flail to knock out all the other Grimm! And then…"

"Sky, please, don't encourage her," groaned Weiss, pressing her face into her hands, forgetting about the food on her plate… which was swiftly stolen by Blake, as that day lunch was fish-based. "It's already bad as it is… We don't need any more."

"Yeah, let's choose another topic," agreed Yang, pumping her fists together. "Why are my two little siblings armed and ready?"

Ruby blushed and the shame on her face increased twofold, so it fell on Jaune to reply. "Simply put, we were gonna modify my weapon since I continued to be sent flying every time I try to use it." He huffed as a grape impacted the side of his head. "We went over the blueprints again and, guess what, there was an unforeseen mistake."

"That was…?"

"The middle barrel is _not_ a rifle," mumbled Ruby, still not looking at anyone, poking her indexed together. "It's… a miniature railgun…"

Everyone was shocked into silence for a second. A railgun. Ruby had accidentally built a railgun in Jaune's rifle. How, they didn't know. How could she not have realized it, they didn't know. Maybe she had been so excited that she had just built the most awesome weapon she could? No one knew the answer. Finally, someone spoke.

"Ahahah!" An obnoxious laughter reached them and the nine turned as one, eyes locking on the form of one Cardin Winchester, unlicensed bully and certified moron, laughing at a girl with rabbit ears on her head. "I told you it was real," the imbecile chuckled smugly as he and his team surrounded the Faunus at the table.

"What a freak," was the only comment-reply he received from Russel Thrush, other certified moron, only idiot in the school who thought that a Mohawk made him look cool. In truth, it made him look like an idiot. Oh well, so it made him look like what he was.

Yang noticed how both Jaune and Ruby tensed up. "He still bullies the two of you?" she growled, ready to dish out more ass-kicking. "He's so dead."

"He's not 'bullying' me," Jaune argued weakly. "It's more… you know… his or _their_ way of fitting in. Heck, some friends of mine who go to high school greet each other with insults and hits, I guess it's natural for them to do the same. They play cool and badass. They are just… messing around."

"Y-Yeah…" Ruby nodded dejectedly. "No harm."

"He's a bully!" exclaimed Yang, banging her fist on the table. "He constantly calls Ruby names, picks on her and ridicules her, and the same goes for you! If he's not a bully, then I am a peacock!"

"Ow, that hurts!" The nine turned again to see Cardin pulling the girl's rabbit ear. "Please, stop."

Jaune tightened his hand into a fist, wishing he could do something. Alas, his aunt had made that clear. He wasn't strong enough to stand up to a student, or they would get revenge on him when his team was not around. Besides, he couldn't defeat a whole team… damn it all. He had Goodwitch as his aunt, he could do whatever he wished. He stood up and marched over to the team, pointing his sword at Cardin. "Release her, now, it's not fun to cause pain."

The four stopped laughing and turned to him. There wasn't even hostility in their eyes, just plain deadpan. Him, the weakest Hunter of… okay no, that wasn't true. Heck, he had defeated that Vero moron, so he wasn't hopeless, and he had a few win under his belt. Just… he had lost _way_ more than he had won. Maybe that counted for something? "Jauney Boy? What are you doing?" Cardin grabbed his sword and swiped it out of his grip. Damn Aura, he shouldn't have been able to do th-wait a second, that actually worked to his favour. "Be careful, you could cut yourself with this chopping stick."

Predictably enough, Cardin gave a few tries to the sword. Douchebags were all the same all over Remnant. "Nice balance, seems mechashift, what does your toy do?" Jaune had to hold in a grin as he activated the katara mode. "Ooh, ranged option? It was really time for you to get one, it's-"

 _Booom_. _Crack_.

" **BLOOOOOOOOOOOODY HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL IT HURTS SOOOOOOOOOOOO VERY MUUUUUUUUUUUCH!** "

Jaune winced. That had been way more than he had intended. Cardin should've been able to handle part of the recoil, he was much bigger and stronger than Jaune. Instead, as it turned out, a railgun was still a railgun even in the hands of a bigger guy, and now Cardin was on the ground, and his arm seemed both bent in the wrong way, and broken. "Err… okay, stay still, I… I know some first aid!" He knelt by the boy and, as first thing, removed the katara. Better not to risk him to shoot again in a spasm, he might've seriously destroy his arm. "Okay, now… this is gonna hurt like hell and more, but if I don't set the bone back in place your Aura might… damn it I'm just gonna pop the bone back in place."

 _Crack_.

" **KAAAAAAAAAAARMAAAAAAAA IIIIIIIIIIS AAAAAAAA BIIIIIIIIIITCH!** "

One crunching sound and deafening scream later, Jaune stood up again and picked up his weapon before turning to the three other members of Cardin's team. "Okay… this was _not_ how I had envisioned this meeting to go, so why don't you just take your leader to the infirmary?" The three boys nodded silently and scampered off while he turned to the bunny girl. "And… sorry for the lacklustre rescue, you just looked like you could appreciate a hand, Ms…?"

"Scarlatina. Velvet Scarlatina." She cradled her sore ear but she nodded in thanks. "Call me Velvet and… thanks for the help."

"Although, why didn't you just told them to get lost?"

The girl flinched when Yang's voice spoke from over her shoulder. Twirling around she came face-to-face with the blonde brawler. "I…" Velvet seemed to search for a suitable excuse, but her mind was drawing a blank. "I was not supposed to fight back…"

"What the fuck?!" This time it was Blake, who pushed Yang aside and stood before Velvet. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I…"

Weiss appeared beside Blake, and Jaune seriously began considering whether being Huntresses in training gave them teleportation powers or not. "You are a sophomore, or maybe even a third or fourth year. And you allow that moron to torment you?"

"Kinda reminds me of someone," she added under her breath, looking at Ruby and Jaune, who just fidgeted nervously.

"No, I…"

"You don't even have to ask, we'll break his legs!" exclaimed Nora, popping into existence from behind Yang, with Ren beside her. Really, more of those teleporters? Ren sighed and placed a hand on his forehead. "Nora, Jaune already broke his arm, let's not make it worse…"

"But I…"

"We can help you if you need," added Pyrrha, appearing from behind Yang. Seriously?! She was _taller_ than Yang! How had she been able to materialize behind her? "We're not going to allow him to bully you."

"You don't und-"

"And don't use the flimsy excuse of 'he wasn't bullying me, I'm just peachy!', because it's not gonna work," completed Sky, stepping beside Blake with his arms crossed on his chest. "You clearly aren't going to stand up to him, so just let us do it for you. That's what we are training for, right?"

"I DIDN'T _WANT_ HIM TO STOP!" Velvet basically shouted before catching herself and bringing a hand to cover her mouth.

"What?" exclaimed Yang, surprised. The others weren't too far behind, and soon they were interrogating the girl once more. "Why didn't you?" was the most asked question, followed by "Why didn't you kick their asses?" and "Why did you shout at _us_? We just wanted to help you!" Finally, Velvet seemed to cave in. At first she just wilted, looking everywhere but at them, then she shrank, and finally she muttered something no one could catch.

"Sorry, what was that?" asked Blake, who despite being a Faunus, not like the others knew, still hadn't heard her.

"I'm a mmmghg…"

"Sorry?" inquired Jaune.

"I'm a mammmrhghg…"

Yang shook her head. "Nah, still didn't catch that."

"I'M A MASOCHIST!" the girl whisper-yelled, face burning red.

Ruby went wide eyed, while Jaune also went crimson, before Yang shoved them back to their table, trying to protect her siblings' innocent ears. Ren and Pyrrha seemed stuck, blinking and staring at the girl as if they hadn't really understood what she had said. Nora had formed a O with her mouth, but no sound was coming out of it, while Sky merely froze while blushing all shades of red, and Weiss was if possible even more affected than Ruby or Jaune, as she was bordering fainting.

Blake had a completely different reaction. "Masochist bunny girl allowing the bully to hurt her… clever and cunning… it's just like Ninjas of Love, book thirteen, Banging the Bunny…"

All eyes went on her, and she quickly blushed and ran out of the cafeteria. No one knew if it was out of embarrassment, or out of a sudden need to 'read' her erotica. In the following silence, one would've heard a fly buzzing overhead. Which they did, since Vale was not cold enough to keep out the damn insects. Actually, not even Atlas could, but at least Atlas did not have mosquitoes, which Vale had. Plenty of them.

Returning to the group, the silence was so thick Blake would've probably been turned on by its thickness. Horrible _anal_ ogies aside, everyone of them was shocked. Except Yang and siblings since they had kindly removed themselves from the scene, of course. Velvet lowered her ears to cover her eyes and tried to flee, but she was grabbed by the arm by no less than Pyrrha Nikos herself.

"Don't worry, we are just shocked, we do not hate you nor think any less of you," the girl said smoothly, covering her surprise with a practised fakeness. "There's no shame in having different… tastes, so to speak. As long as this… quirk… of yours does not harm any of us, we shall not persecute you for it."

Velvet raised one ear to peek at her. "Not even a _little bit_ of persecution?"

"Not even one little bit," confirmed Pyrrha, and then halted when the girl seemed to slump. "Err… unless you ask us to?"

The Faunus jumped up at once, grabbing the redhead and sprinting out of the room, heedless of her cries for mercy. "Thank you! I _really_ need to unwind a bit, mind whipping me for a few minutes? I won't take much longer, don't worry, I still have homework to do!"

" **Help!** " Pyrrha's cry went unheeded, even if not unheard, by her friends.

Weiss turned to Ren, Nora and Sky. "We haven't seen anything."

/-/

Elsewhere, during the famous staff meeting…

"Ozpin, this needs to stop."

Professor Glynda Goodwitch paced back and forth in the office while the Headmaster just gazed at her without as much as blinking. "This is getting ridiculous. I can understand being happy about what happened, but your behaviour is absolutely unforgivable." The Professor looked at Ozpin, who just gazed straight ahead. "Ozpin, are you listening?"

"I am."

"What did I just say?"

"You were talking about how ridiculously lucky we are to get not _one,_ but _two_ Silver Eyed Warriors this year, even if only one-eyed. The link they share is also _incredibly_ good news, and I for one do hope they will be important for our battle," he replied effortlessly, and was immediately rewarded by a large, heavy book being thrown at his head. "Glynda, what was that? I haven't said anything to draw your ire."

"Sir, you've been spacing out in class, all the time. You don't even respond to questions or prodding, and just yesterday a student wrote 'Wake me up, please' on your forehead without you even noticing." Goodwitch fixed him with a frosty glare. "I do not think that is _good news_."

Huff. Leave it to Glynda to ruin all the fun. _'Can't she understand? We have two Silver Eyed Warriors. Two! I have no idea how that happened, actually I think I was still hungover when it happened, damn my stupid low alcoholic endurance, but it's a_ _ **very**_ _good sign!'_ "And your point is, Ms Goodwitch?"

"Two days ago, Mr Winchester organized a tennis match in your classroom," added the stern woman, glaring daggers at him. He was unfazed. "And on that very same day, Ms Adel organized a fashion class for fourth year students during what was _supposed_ to be your class."

Ozpin calmly sipped his mug. "I must praise their organization skills, then. This makes them better suited for their leader statuses. Don't you agree, Ms Goodwitch? As for me, I _did_ notice them, I just ignored them in favour of a more productive train of thoughts. Can you blame me for having priorities?"

"Aside from the fact you are starting to creep Ms Rose and Mr Arc out by zoning out with a smile while staring at them, and the fact you've been ignoring all your duties, your actions are by far too obvious." He raised his gaze to her, and she made a sound between a scoff and a sigh. "Ozpin… if there were someone allied to Salem in the school, they would immediately notice how you are acting, and they could try to pull something while you are not attentive. Even without considering all the pranks and moronism ongoing within the school, you are not just a Headmaster. You cannot afford to be distracted."

Ozpin seemed to think about that for a while. "Yes… yes, I guess you _are_ indeed right," he agreed with a sip from his mug. "I have been neglecting my duties, and I'm sorry. I will start to take my lessons more seriously from now on, don't worry. This temporary phase of celebration has passed, now it's time for me to educate our Silver Eyed Warriors."

"Err…" Goodwitch looked down at the notepad in her hands. "Until November, all your classes have been replaced by Grimm Studies with Professor Port…"

Ozpin stared at her. "…what have the students done?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Welcome back, Professor… this is gonna be long to explain." She sat down on a chair and returned his gaze. "But remember that if anyone asks, this 'staff meeting' is about tomorrow's trip to Forever Fall, okay?"

"Of course."

"Well then, let's make this very quick, it's never good to leave Peter and Bart alone in a staff meeting…"

/-/

"Say, Barty, since Glynda claimed to be busy, why don't _we_ organize the trip to Forever Fall tomorrow?"

Bartholomew Oobleck, the tall and lanky green-haired History Professor, paused mid-sip for a second, thinking on the offer. "I don't know, Peter, we always allowed Glynda to work organization out… We might not be the best suited for the task."

"Please! We are more than enough to handle a bit of paperwork!" boasted the large Grimm Studies Professor. Unbeknownst to most students, the man was indeed an exceptional Huntsman. Unfortunately, he also had the inhuman tendency to ramble. Like, all the time. A few students even thought that to be his Semblance. "What could go wrong?"

"Do you remember what happened last time you organized an outing?" snorted the green-haired man, sipping his coffee. "Because if memory serves me well, you ended up almost causing a breach in the school."

 _"Blah blah blah, blah blah, blah, blah… Students? Please do not be so full of despair, you will…"_ _ **ROAR**_ _. "…attract Grimm…"_

"That was one time," protested Port.

"Yes, because you were never entrusted with the organization again!" exclaimed Oobleck. "Why, _I_ instead…"

 _"As you can see this city is… Students? Students? Oh dear, it appears I've left them behind again. Now…"_ _ **ROAR**_ _. "Aaah, yes, they are still in Forever Fall, it appears. It shouldn't take me more than a few minutes to reach them, although these ruins here of Mt Glenn are really intere-"_ _ **ROAR**_ _. "Yes, yes, I understood, I have to go."_

"…well, I didn't cause a breach," the man finished lamely.

There was a beat of silence between the two.

"We should leave this to Glynda, right?"

"Right."

/-/

"So… problem solved?"

Jaune sighed as he looked at the redhead beside him. Well… red-with-gold-head, to tell the truth. "I guess so, Ruby."

The two of them were back to walking in the courtyard, although they were keeping themselves in the more wooded area. Beacon's gardens were incredible, and incredibly odd. Despite being a school for warriors, it surely wasn't devoid of entertainments or ways to relax, such as the pool or the gardens. As they walked in the shadow of the trees, Jaune couldn't help but think how lucky he had been to get Ruby as friend. Without her, he would still be stuck with Crocea Mors. Not that he knew how to use Cauchemar much better, of course, but it was still a better weapon.

Not that he was glad Ruby had been killed, even though that had been what had allowed him to have her as friend, but he was glad things had played out how they did.

"Wanna spar a little?" grinned the girl, patting Crescent Rose. The motion also brought Jaune's eyes to drift a little lower, resting on her very firm-looking butt, but he quickly looked back up at her, trying not to let his nervousness show through.

"W-Well…" _'Great job Arc, you should start a career as an actor…'_ "I… I don't think that's a good idea…"

"Whaat? Don't be silly, of course it's a good idea!" countered Ruby, the skip in her step not really helping him ease his nervousness. Did she have to look so damn eager to kick his ass into next week? "Come on, it'll be fun!"

"For you, maybe, not for the one on the receiving end of Crescent Rose…" grumbled the boy, putting a few more inches between himself and the reaper. "I'd like to walk back to the dorms on my own, thank you, and even if I know I'm not that handsome I'd like for my face to remain as it is."

"Oh come on, it's not like I'm gonna kill you!" protested the girl, pouting adorably. Alas, his pout worked more, he had more sisters and more experience than her with pouting. "Come on, it's been a few weeks already, I've seen your fights, you're not half bad!"

"That's a bold-faced lie and you know it," deadpanned Jaune. "No way I can be called 'not half bad', not with how much I suck."

"You made it to Beacon, and you have a few wins under your belt, Jaune." Ruby playfully elbowed his side, but the reminder seemed to just cast a shadow on the boy, whose expression darkened. "Jaune? Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah…" He looked straight ahead and sped up a little, but he halted when she grabbed his arm. "W-What?"

"Jaune, empathic link remember?" Ruby pinched a golden lock of her hair and held it up for him to see. "You brought me back from the dead and unlocked my Aura, and then you think you can hide a problem from me?"

Jaune sighed exaggeratedly. "Oh no, all my secrets will be revealed!"

"Yep! So start spilling or I start probing in your mind with my mystical telepathic powers!" Ruby managed to hold the act for a grand total of five seconds of deadpan from Jaune before she broke down in a fit of giggles. "That was one of the silliest things I've ever said…"

He chuckled along. "We still don't know how this 'powers' work, Ruby, what is currently silly might very well become true…" He trailed off. "Although if that's the case, maybe we should establish a few ground rules like 'no scanning each other's mind without permission' or stuff like that. It could get _very_ embarrassing and _very_ quickly…"

Ruby smothered her laughter as well. "Yeah…" Shaking those thoughts out of her mind, she turned to him. "So? Spill or I'll have to make you spill." Jaune opened his mouth to deflect the question or change topic, but she took a step closer. "Jaune. Please. I just want to help you. We're friends, right?"

He looked at her and sighed. "Yes… yes we are friends. But this is… not exactly something you can help me with."

"Is it the fact your skills are not like the others'?" asked Ruby, earnest. Jaune stared at her, surprised. "I am not stupid, Jaune, I can see the look on your face every now and then when the topic comes up. There is nothing to be sorry about. Hey, you even beat Tear, and he was the strongest first year!"

"I didn't beat him, Ruby, he was wiping the floor with me until he was surprised by _your_ Aura," Jaune countered. "And even then, I only won because I kept hitting his face and keeping him stunned."

"You still won," Ruby pointed out innocently. "But really, what is the problem? If you feel like you are not training enough, train more. There is always a solution."

Jaune looked at her and sighed. There was no point keeping something like that from her, not if he was gonna have her around… forever after? For Oum only knew how long. Plus she was right, they might start develop telepathic abilities given how she had effectively heard his thoughts during the fight with Tear. If she had to find out, it was better if he were to tell her, instead of allowing her to find out on her own, without having the chance to explain. "I…"

"Come on, we're friends!"

He sighed once again. "The problem is how I got into Beacon in the first place, Ruby. I am already training hard, any more and I wouldn't have time for my friends."

"You were invited by Goodwitch, so?"

He shook his head. "Not… exactly, Ruby. Goodwitch wrote and signed my transcripts _after_ I got into the school." He dared a glance at the girl, finding her none-the-wiser. "I had my transcripts forged, Ruby."

She ooh'd and continued to stare at him. "I… I had my transcripts forged."

"I heard you."

"By Torchwick!" The name made her flinch, but otherwise her expression remained blank. "I lied! I don't deserve my spot in this Academy! I am dragging everyone down and putting my team at risk!"

"Nope."

"I'm-wait, nope?" Jaune looked at her, dumbfounded. Of all the things she could've said, that was the most off-putting.

She nodded. "Nope. You are not putting them at risk. This is a school, Jaune, there is a reason if we will train here for four years. You are not expected to be perfect, they are gonna teach you and train you." The two of them sat on a bench under the trees' shadow. "As for the transcripts… well, I can't say I'm comfortable with _who_ you worked with to get them, but it's just another way of entering, I guess. Plus you said now you have actual transcripts, so I don't see the problem."

"But… I lied and I cheated…" Jaune argued weakly.

"Jaune, I can't say I know everything about you but you're my friend, and I know you are a good person. You'd make for a great Huntsman," Ruby encouraged him, bringing her legs on the bench and sitting cross-legged. "Plus you are obviously serious on your training, so if you haven't gotten real transcripts there must be a reason. You never went to combat school? Oooh, did you learn how to fight in the Grimmlands?"

Jaune laughed and shook his head, still not completely processing how she could just let him off the hook so easily. "No, I… I didn't got any training at all. Sure, some brawls with my sisters, but those were just games. Smithing surely helped with strength and endurance. And yes, I have indeed fought a few times, but never for my life nor big stuff. A robber once, and I still got robbed, and another time a bunch of drunks thrown out of a pub, but that time I 'won'."

Ruby tilted her head to the side. "I've seen how much you want to become a Huntsman, Jaune. Why didn't you go to combat school? I went to Signal, although it has been my Uncle Qrow the one who taught me, I really-"

"I never had the chance," admitted Jaune, cutting her rambling short. "I mean… my family and I have been travelling for the past ten years already, since I was seven, and we never stopped for long in a single place, so I was never able to attend a school. I've been home-educated all my life, ever since… ever since my dad died."

Ruby stiffened and seemed to shake a little. "G-Grimm?"

Jaune shook his head with a snort. "Nah, he was a smith, Ruby. Lung cancer. I was seven when it happened. I'm not sad about it. He was diagnosed months in advance, so he basically did everything he had always wanted to do… and there were some really weird things." Ruby sniffled once before perking up, glad for the topic to be changing to something lighter. "And after he gave-up the ghost, we just sold everything and started travelling around Remnant. I've been everywhere and I can understand some of all the dialects, plus I've learned tons of other stuff… but combat isn't among those."

Ruby nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, then I don't see why you are so sad about it." He looked at her, shocked. Had she really not understood what he had done? He had cheated his way in! "You are a good person, Jaune, and you are dedicated to this. There's no way you didn't have a reason for what you've done. You have a reason, you are a good person, and you also have a good heart. Stop berating yourself about it."

"Maybe… Maybe you're right. I…" Jaune looked at her, then looked at the ground. "I-" His dramatics were cut short when her stomach growled loudly, almost immediately followed by his own. "I… think that now that my weapon's fixed, and that this is over, we should get some food."

"Cookies!" She grabbed his arm and speeded off. "I am coming to eat you!"

 ** _Okay, after a chapter of idiocy and then some fluff, I gotta explain._**

 ** _For Ruby's mistake, it is obviously exaggerated. I do know that a railgun is vastly different from a rifle. I just wanted to point out that a rifle shouldn't have sent Jaune flying, while a railgun would've probably sent Jaune flying through a few walls, not just one. He can thank Aura for that. And I do know that it is virtually impossible for Ruby to have mistakenly sketched a railgun instead of a rifle. It is just for the sake of comedy... and for the sake of Cardin getting a broken arm. That way Jaune hadn't even had to do something, he did it all by himself..._**

 ** _Second, Velvet. I am NOT discriminating in any way against masochists. It is a personal choices, and like all choices, it is perfectly fine until it starts harming others. If you are a masochist and you felt offended by that scene, let me explain before you call me discriminatory. Velvet is a upperclasswoman. She freaking destroys an Atlasian Paladin at the Fall of Beacon, and almost destroys a second one (that is destroyed by Weiss with ease... fuck broken Semblances...). She's so strong Coco tells her to not even bother use her weapon at the Breach. Yet, a bunch of idiots who ran before a mere Ursa Major can bully her around with no problem, only getting a "Ah! It hurts" and a "Please, stop". Then she walks away wiping a tear from her eye. Seriously? She's in a school for warriors, there should be no thing as shyness among upperclassmen/women. None at all. Teachers should've hammered that out of her. And the famous "she doesn't want her actions to make people see the Faunus as violent" that I see so often used in stories, well that just never sat well with me. I'm not criticizing the authors who use that, mind me. It's just that if she's so worried people will see Faunus as violent if she defends herself, she should've have trained to become a Huntress. So I went with another reason. She was enjoying their actions. Now, she's not the stereotypical "Whip me, I want to suffer!" type, come on. She's like any other person... just that she takes sexual pleasure in pain. That does not mean she's horny at all times and wants to suffer at all times. Also, she does know that damaging her body, as pleasant as that may be for her, is not a good idea if she wants to also train. Remember, being a masochism does not mean being a demented moron. Since she wants to train, she keeps her body in trainable conditions._**

 ** _Before you ask no, I am not a masochist. I have tried, but no. Maybe I take a bit of satisfaction in knowing that I don't find harming myself that odd while others would scream even just at the thought, but honestly pain is not something I enjoy. It is useful, but not pleasant to me._**

 ** _So! Changing topic altogether..._**

 ** _Romance Status: weeeeee, the ride is star-wait, still nothing? Aww... sorry, I guess you'll just have to wait a bit more. They both know the other's attractive, sure, but has anyone noticed how all RWBYJNPR in the show is basically supermodel-material? Anyway, don't worry. Once they fall for each other, I won't drag it out agonizingly long, I hate that. Reading it builts up tension in me, I can feel my blood pressure increase every time the author almost confess but then no I have to wait again. And while increased blood pressure might be good for me (I have low blood pressure problems), I hate that stuff. So I'll try to keep it not horribly long. Besides, they have an empathic link, no? Why would they have it, if not for that? Lol..._**

 ** _Next Chapter: RIP Ursa. Should I even explain?_**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	13. RIP Ursa

**_Oi! Here I am, back to An Extension of the Soul. You will see that the title is pretty ironic. You know, I should stop putting these AN at the start, they are just useless, but I can't help myself. Well, nothing to say except this is mainly just comedy. Wink._**

The next day began in a pretty normal way. They would go to Forever Fall in the afternoon, but the morning classes hadn't been cancelled. For once Port had given out a true and interesting lesson, during Ozpin's Politics of Remnant, but unfortunately Oobleck still spoke lightning-fast. No one really knew _why_ the Professor taught in such a manner, especially since students reported to have heard him talking at normal speed time and again, but the Professor never answered that question when directly asked.

As such, there weren't many students actively paying attention in his class. Sure, many at least tried to, but not everyone could. Some simply weren't very interested, like for example Jaune Arc Rose Xiao Long, who was napping on his desk. All in all, Oobleck was pretty sure he was wasting his time trying to teach them.

However, that was his job. "Prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus War, humankind was quite, quite _adamant_ about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie." He zoomed around the classroom as he spoke, taking sips from the divine ambrosia that kept him sane despite having to deal with hormonal superpowered teenagers everyday, all day long. "Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively _recent_ events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day! Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?"

A few students raised their hands, and the man darkened, lowering his coffee. "Dreadful. Simply, dreadful. Remember, students, it is _precisely_ this kind of ignorance that breeds violence," he spoke slowly and dangerously, as if daring any of them to deny his words. "I mean… I mean… I mean just look at what happened to the White Fang! A once peaceful organization fighting for equality, now turned into a group of terrorists committing the same mistake humans committed all those years ago. Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point of the third year of the War?" He smiled a little when a hand was raised. "Yes?"

Weiss puffed out her chest in pride. "The battle at Fort Castle!"

The man nodded. "Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

At the corner of his sight, Oobleck saw Cardin Winchester flick a crumpled paper at Jaune. Well, while he didn't condone the action, at least it woke him up. Pretending to have mistaken his startled interjection for a volunteering, the man zipped before the student. "Mr Arc! Finally contributing to class. This is excellent! Excellent, I say. What is the answer?"

Jaune blinked sleepily. "Uhh… what is the question?"

A few students laughed, but Oobleck didn't show his building irritation. "We were talking about the Faunus Rights Revolution, Mr Arc, specifically about the Battle of Fort Castle. I asked about the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces."

He seemed to think about it for a few seconds, ignoring Yang who had just written 'NIGHT VISION' on a piece of paper and was holding it up, before snapping his fingers. "Ah, yes, I went there. Well, the most accredited theory is that General Lagune forgot about the Faunus' night vision, but I've read that there is a second theory I'm more inclined to agree with."

"Oh?" asked Oobleck, interested. He of course had heard of said second theory, but it had never been proved, so history remembered humanity's defeat as stupidity on Lagune's part. "Care to expand your answer?"

"Well, while I was travelling with my mom I visited the castle and the battlefield alike, as well as the museum, it was all very interesting. However, a few historians points out how General Lagune was, while not the brightest man in the army, not an idiot. As such, those historians find it hard to believe that he would've tried something like a nocturnal attack on the Faunus forces." Oobleck nodded, he was one of those historians, after all. "They believe that the captain of the Faunus 'army' used the Faunus' natural stealth and acute senses to infiltrate the enemy encampment so to lower the troops' morale. For that time alone, the Grimm worked in their favour as they preyed on the human army more than on the Faunus, leaving the humans scared and defeated."

"Ahh, yes, indeed a very solid theory, with unfortunately not enough facts to back it up." Oobleck looked at the young man before him with slightly interest. "Mr Arc, you seem remarkably good in this class, so I must ask you why you were sleeping during it. Are you tired?"

"Didn't sleep well. I've got stuff on my mind." As if to prove his point, Jaune yawned. "And… well, no offence Professor, but I know this stuff already so I thought to try and rest now since we will have that trip to Forever Fall this afternoon…"

Oobleck nodded slowly before continuing. "However, Mr Arc, if you are so knowledgeable in this subject, why don't you drop this class and take up another one? Studying what you already know is not wise."

Jaune laughed sheepishly. "Err… yeah, I guess so… I'll check what other classes I could take, thank you Professor," he replied, ignoring Ruby's not-so-silent cry of 'Take Weapon Class with me!'

"You are welcome, Mr Arc. Anyone else has anything to add?" Oobleck asked aloud before focusing on Cardin, the one who had thrown the paperball. "Mr Winchester, maybe you could participate as well?"

The boy scoffed. "Well, it's obvious that it's easier to train an animal than a soldier."

Oobleck sighed and shook his head. "Mr Winchester, I would really like if you could avoid such comments during my class." The bell chose that moment to ring. "Remain after class."

Cardin grumbled while everyone else packed up and left. Immediately, Jaune found that three fifths of his team had ideas for which class he could take on while dropping history.

"Come with me in Weapon Class!" offered Ruby, zipping around him so fast he just gave up on trying to keep her in sight. "You can learn how to build weapons and oooooooh you can then maybe even add more stuff to Cauchemar!"

"Ruby, it's already complex enough as it is, let's not add any more Jaune-killing modes," sighed the boy before his head was taken in a headlock. "Ugh, Yang…"

"Or, you could take Additional Combat Class with me!" she grinned happily. "Most students do, they can skip the more boring academic lessons and can kick more asses."

"In my case, I'd just get my ass kicked more, not the other way around. While that might be a good way to learn, I'd prefer if first I could get some sparring under my belt, maybe with you guys."

"You could always ask Weiss, Ren or Nora, they _were_ your teammates for a grand total of… what? A week? Well, it's still something." Sky patted Jaune's shoulder. "Come on, come on, it's nothing. You could ask for a free period to go and hit the gym. Oh, or even better, you could take an Aura Manipulation class, you've got a lot of it so it could be useful."

Jaune thought about his options for a bit before he sighed. "Okay, all three are too appealing to give up. I'm hammering the last nail on my coffin. I'll take the Aura class, but I'll probably ask you to spar, as well as my… err… _former teammates_ , and Ruby I'll have to ask you to teach me a little of weapons. Not just building them, a more general 'weapons', I'm pretty sure you know lots about it."

"Yeah, and in return you can help us with other stuff," said Yang, winking at him. "I mean, you kinda suck in combat-related classes, yeah, but otherwise you've been homeschooled all your life and you've studied academic subjects way more than us. Me especially, I only ever cared to get a passing grade."

"Wait, so you tutor me in combat and I tutor you in academics?" They all nodded, and Jaune let out a short laugh. "Eh, this is unexpected. I thought I'd be far far far behind everyone in everything."

"Come on, Jaune, you've got a different education than us, but you've still got an education." Yang leaned in. "Unless you want to tell us that your mom is a Grimm and you've lived with a pack of Beowolves all your life, of course."

"My mother is not a Grimm, thank you!" Jaune exclaimed stiffly as they all entered the cafeteria, receiving a few stares. "Listen, I just thought that everyone in this school would've been like, a superhuman or something. Or superFaunus, whatever. Instead… well… they are…"

"Underwhelming?" offered Blake, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… yeah. I mean, no. They're normal. The point is…" Jaune scratched the back of his head. "We are training to become Remnant's future defenders. Shouldn't people here be… I don't know… different? _Better?_ Maybe more open-minded, or naturally gifted in the art of fighting, or maybe tactical geniuses… I just see teenagers like in any normal school, just with superpowers and no responsibility."

"Well… if everyone thought like you do, Jaune, Remnant would have no Hunters," replied Yang. "I mean, there are indeed people who have ideals and goals to achieve, but most of the students in Beacon -and in the other Academies as well- are here just because they like being strong and powerful, and they like the idea of getting Hunter licenses so they can order people around when they are on a mission."

"Those sound like bullies with superpowers," noted Jaune.

"Well, yes. But the Grimm are too much of a threat to look into such details. Take Cardin, for example," continued Blake, shrugging slightly, as they all took their food trays. "He's a bully and a racist, yet I'm sure even he wouldn't hesitate to protect a Faunus from the Grimm. The Academies overlook such traits because even those people will help in the fight against the Grimm. And, as harsh as that might sound, everyone knows that the best people always die. The ones who can manage to stay alive aren't the best people, but they get experience, and in this career it's most of what matters. So, yeah, they are bullies, but the Grimm do not differentiate between a bully and a victim."

Jaune sighed and looked down. "The best people always die, huh?" His mind went back to what had happened to Ruby. She was the best person, in terms of ideals, he had ever met, and she had been killed at fifteen because of those ideals. Maybe Blake was right. Well, at least now he knew he was gonna live a long life. "Guys, I have to tell you all something."

"What is it, Jaune?" asked Ruby, despite being the only one who already knew about it, even though she didn't know he was gonna talk about that.

"My transcripts, they are… they are forged. Fake. Or well, they were, Aunt Glynda wrote them again and signed them herself so now they are legal, but I got in with forged transcripts," he said quickly, trying to get it over with. They weren't like Ruby, he couldn't really expect-

"Well, it's not _I_ can judge you for that," shrugged Blake, returning to eat her food and leaving a surprised Jaune to stare at her. "I mean, it's not like I am a former criminal or something, of course I am not, but still it's not like I can condemn you for wanting to help people and resorting to less-than-legal methods to do it."

Jaune turned to Yang, who just surprised him further with a shrug. "You saved my sister, Jaune. You're basically already a Huntsman to me. I don't give two shits about your forgery, I trashed a pub before coming to Beacon." She snickered at his slightly frightened expression. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna trash you. Besides, you aren't like Cardin, so I don't even see any reason to rat you out."

Sky looked between Yang and Blake before he shrugged as well. "If they are okay with it, I'm okay with it," he stated plainly.

"But… but… but Torchwick!" Jaune whisper-yelled, attracting Yang's gaze once more. "I got my transcripts from him!"

"So you know where to find that motherfucker?" asked Yang, her eyes just a little burning red. "Ruby, forget I ever said the word 'motherfucker'."

"Noted."

"I… No, I got the transcripts and he asked me to pay him back with a future favour. Nothing extreme, I swear!" Jaune began to sweat under Yang's gaze, and when she smiled his nerves did not ease in the slightest. "Y-Yang?"

"Good, very very good. Now we just have to wait until he asks you for that favour, maybe you two will have to meet, and we can come along and capture him," she said happily, sitting back down as her eyes went back to lilac. "That's a very very big plus in my books. Thanks, lil' brother!"

"Yaaaaaang…" both Ruby and Jaune groaned.

/-/

The red leaves on the ground were disturbed as fourteen pairs of feet stepped over them. The trees' branches swayed gently in the wind, letting a few crimson leaves detach and fall gently down. Glynda Goodwitch was leading them deeper and deeper into the woods. Behind her there was Team PWVR, with Pyrrha lagging behind. After the redhead came Team -BYL, whose leader was in the back together with his Link. Team CRDS hurried after them, keeping away from the last two members of the group. One was a young redhead, Ruby, sitting on the last person's shoulder and squealing in excited at being able to get such a ride. The last was a terrifying iron giant almost ten feet tall, covered in lucid grey armour, who made the ground shake at every step. He seemed just slightly aware of Ruby's presence on his shoulder.

"Yes students, the Forever Fall forest is indeed beautiful. But, we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and _I_ am here to make sure none of you die while doing so," Professor Goodwitch explained as she led a few teams of first years into the red-leafed forest. "Each of you is to gather one jar with the red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at four o'clock. Have fun!"

Eight of the thirteen people in her group walked off to her right, with a ninth stomping after them -Jaune-, while the other four students chose to walk away on her left. Well, there they went. She suppressed a sigh. _'Come on, come on. He went through Initiation just_ _ **fine**_ _. This totally isn't gonna be more dangerous. I can't stalk him around, he is a grown young man now, not my little boy any more.'_ She sniffled. _'My baby Jaune is all grown up and resurrects people. I'm so_ _ **proud**_ _of him.'_

Meanwhile, with the other students… Jaune was busy removing the heavy full plate armour his aunt had insisted for him to wear. "Damn, damn, damn, damn it!" he exclaimed as he finally peeled off the first layer, revealing a second full plate underneath. "This stuff weights a ton!"

"Wait, how many layers are there?" Yang asked, standing on tip-toes to try and see his face. With the armour on, he was standing a bit over nine feet in height, far more than his natural six feet something. "How can you even move with that?"

"I'm used to being coddled, and I'm used to overprotective relatives. During History class I haven't mentioned that I visited Fort Castle with Glynda, and that she made me wear all sorts of protective symbols in case the ghosts of the dead soldiers decided to take revenge on me," grumbled Jaune, removing his gauntlets just to reveal a third pair underneath. "It's very very annoying. Or like that time when I went to a swordplay lesson, and -still my auntie- threatened the instructors of painful death if they went too hard on me. As the years went on it lessened, but right now we are in the middle of a Grimm-infested forest."

"Three full plates?" asked Blake, bewildered. "That explains why you look like an iron golem animated by dark magic."

"I currently have other four full plates under this, it was seven of them in total," replied Jaune. "And I still don't know how she can find full plates built so that they can go over other full plates. Normally, they should be worn over a vest and nothing else…"

"You underestimate the powers of family overprotectiveness," sighed Ruby, patting his shoulder. "Once, when we were visiting a cinema, Yang managed to have the entire hall completely empty aside from us. She said it was to prevent people from 'getting handsy' with me with the advantage of the crowd."

Jaune glanced at Yang, who merely shrugged. "You are crazy."

"Hey, she's my little sister, I gotta protect her innocence!" she protested as she began to help him remove the fourth armour. "And this is gonna happen to you too, I gotta protect my little siblings."

"Yaaaaang…"

"Shush, Ruby, you know nothing about the dangers of the world," replied the girl. "And especially, you know nothing about what people could do to you."

"You mean sex?"

Yang choked, stumbled, tripped, fell and cursed all at the same time. Thankfully the curse was lost in choking, or the Gods would've probably returned to Remnant just to punish her. And, meanwhile, punish all humanity because that's how they worked: destroy everyone, so no one will ever commit that mistake again. It was a sound logic, right? If there was no one left alive, no one was going to curse ever again. "Wh-What?!"

"Jaune told me what 'sex' is, Yang, since you refused to tell me," explained the younger girl. "He told me everything I need to know, and honestly now I regret asking him, but still I don't see the big deal…"

Yang looked at Jaune with betrayal written all over her face. "Y-You told her?!"

"Well… yes. I mean…" Jaune chucked aside a piece of armour and laughed nervously. "Err… I just thought it would be better that way. I mean, you won't always be around to protect her, Yang, what if someone else decided to take advantage of Ruby's ignorance?"

Yang continued to choke, but she had to give him that. He had a point, and she had no comeback for that. "I…"

"Oh, come on, it wasn't that much of a big deal, it was just embarrassing," protested Ruby. "Come on, let's gather the sap, so then we can relax!"

Yang was left to choke, but the others quickly began to gather the sap. Weiss and Pyrrha were -vainly- trying to stop Nora from eating all the sap Ren gathered. Keyword being vainly. Jaune apparently discovered a newfound allergy to the red sap, much to his own dismay and everyone else's amusement. One by one, they all finally gathered enough sap for everyone. Then, they decided to just slack off until the time to get back came. Of course, 'relax' included keeping Nora from eating all the sap, helping Jaune with his allergy, and trying to shake Yang out of her shock-induced trance.

The first two weren't all that hard, all in all. Ren had years of experience with Nora to help him with the task, and Jaune's Aura could keep him fine as long as he didn't have to touch the stuff. It was the third one that was giving them trouble. Yang kept staying in a comatose state, staring off into the void, still as a statue.

So, of course, no one really noticed Pyrrha quietly using her Semblance to lift one of the -many- plates of Jaune's 'armour' to shield the boy from a stray flying jar of sap. However, they did hear the shattering of glass, and immediately afterwards the armour clattering to the ground. Pyrrha did her best to appear innocent, but she shouldn't have even tried. Blake heard cursing from nearby, so the redhead was spared from interrogation.

The cursing belonged to a particularly disgruntled Cardin Winchester and his team, Team CRDS. Beside him, a boy called Russel Thrush sighed as he put away the box of Rapier Wasps, their plan having failed. None of the boys realized that they had been found out. However, there was one positive thing about the whole ordeal.

It woke Yang up.

"Motherfuckers!" she shouted, using her gauntlets to propel herself forwards. She glanced back from over her shoulder. "Ruby, forget about the curse!"

"Sure!"

"And you!" Yang landed like a meteor right in front of Cardin, who was shell-shocked by her arrival. "No one messes with my family. NO ONE! Did you get it, you miserable half-piece of Creep shit dried in the desert sun and shaped like the ugliest human on Remnant?! I cannot beat you into a pulp at school, but this is not Beacon! Jaune's allergic to that stuff, you could've seriously harmed him!"

"I-"

"None of that!" exclaimed Yang, cocking a fist before thinking better of it and lowering it. "No, wait, I got a better idea." Her eyes remained red. "I'm gonna tell Professor Goodwitch about your 'prank'."

Cardin went white in abject fear. Rumours were that Goodwitch was _extremely_ vengeful when it came to her 'nephew'. Cardin didn't know if it was true or not, but so the rumours said. His teammates, his traitorous teammates, were just standing behind him. "But he… he broke my-"

" _He_ didn't do anything. Sure, he might've threatened you, and he received punishment in the form of an essay about proper behaviour. _You_ took his weapon, _you_ played with it, and _you_ broke your own arm, dude." Yang's smile wouldn't have been out of place on a Beowolf's face. "Duh, you really want to get revenge on the one who broke your arm? Get revenge on yourself, and learn not to try and fire a railgun in a katara, Aura or no Aura."

Yang turned, greeting her teammates and friends with a victorious grin. "Sup, guys? Let's just go and leave this loser with his team of idiots, we got a professor to find."

A loud stomping of feet attracted her attention, followed by a ferocious roar. A large Ursa Major lumbered into the clearing, attracted both by Yang's anger and Cardin's fear. Russel, Sky and Saber all ran away screaming, while Cardin just looked like a deer in the headlights. The evil Grimm took one step forwards before a reluctant Jaune was pushed forth by Yang. The boy looked up to the corrupted eyes of the monsters and raised his weapons.

The Grimm roared again, showing off its great strength and power, rearing on its hind legs to appear even taller. Before him, Jaune didn't even blink. He had faced _Yang_ in combat, a simple roar didn't even faze him. The Grimm brought down a large paw to try and claw out his heart, and the knight raised his shield, bracing himself for the terrible hit.

He felt a bump on his shield, and nothing else. Looking up, he saw that the Grimm was trying to force his shield down, without any success. Jaune blinked. Seriously? That was it? Yang hit much harder even without her Semblance. Shrugging, he ignored the Ursa's attempts to crush him and pointed his sword at the beast's throat. It was out of his reach, he would have to jump in order to hit it. Honestly, Jaune didn't feel like it. That Ursa was pathetic, come on. His peers went easy on him, and still were a much much greater challenge. With another shrug, he activated the mechashift and the handle elongated into a shaft. The now-spear weapon pierced the monster's throat, killing it instantly, before converting back into a sword.

He turned to his friends and just scratched his head. "That's it?" he asked. No one of them seemed surprised. "Well, this was kinda too easy… Are you sure it was an Ursa and not a Creep or something?"

Yang let out a single bark of laughter. "Jaune, welcome to the world of Hunters. Grimm are easy-peasy. Well, the common ones are, at least. I totally trashed two Ursai during Initiation, basically laughing my ass off."

"I feel cheated…" moaned Jaune, shaking his head. "Come on… And here I thought Grimm were stuff of nightmares. They might be ugly but they are not exactly strong…"

"That's usually what we say in the first or second year of combat school," sighed Yang, following his lead and shaking her head as well. "Grimm are too easy. Then you have to fight a horde, and you reconsider. Few of them are really that strong on their own, but the problem is that… well…"

"The Grimm are endless. There is no limit to their numbers," Blake took up from where Yang had trailed off. "Sure, a single Ursa is not a real challenge, but ten are, a hundred are, and thousand are. And there _are_ thousands ready to attack, in the Grimmlands."

"So yeah, Grimm are not really all that tough," shrugged Sky.

"But then… why did Cardin's teammates run?" asked Jaune, puzzled. "I mean, they should-"

"Not all schools make you fight Grimm, Jaune," Yang explained. "Ruby and I have fought them before, but with our dad and uncle, not with the school. In the school we see a _teacher_ killing a Grimm, sometimes, to show us how to do it, but we rarely get to do it on our own. They were probably intimidated by the Grimm. After all, not everyone encountered Grimm during Initiation."

"I guess that's fair enough, but still…" Jaune looked down at Cauchemar. "I can't help but feel cheated. As if I had paid for a drink, and was given water. Killing Grimm is so much easier than I thought…"

"That's because you haven't met the dangerous ones. The Emerald Forest is _huge_ , Jaune, there are many different Grimm in its depths, and Forever Fall is not different," laughed Blake as the five of them left Cardin in the clearing to go and get Professor Goodwitch. "You'll see, there _are_ hard-to-kill Grimm out there. Just be thankful you don't have to fight them right now."

"I guess…" Jaune stopped as they passed by his discarded 'armour'. "Guys, wait, I need to put this back on. If Auntie sees me without this, she's gonna give me detention until my birthday."

"You really want to put that back on?" asked Yang, bewildered.

"Well… yeah," nodded Jaune. "Oh, and guys, don't worry about that, we settled it," he added toward Team PWVR, who were still trying to keep Nora from eating the sap. Ren, Pyrrha and Weiss gave him a nod of acknowledgement, while Nora didn't react at all.

"Well, all in all I guess this has been a great trip, right?" grinned Ruby.

 _Slurp_.

"NORA!"

 ** _Oh man, that was so fun to write. Especially Glynda's overprotectiveness. Seven full plates... poor Jaune, he's carrying around 560 pounds (~280 kg) of armour. Heh, this is a fanfiction, so he can._**

 ** _As for Fort Castle... well, it just makes sense for Jaune -who has travelled a lot- to have also visited the places he passed by. Although I just had to add that bit with Glynda's protectiveness._**

 ** _Finally Jaune defeats the Ursa! ... ... ... Wait, that's it? Come on, let's face it, in canon Grimm are Remnant's laughingstock. 17-y-old children LAUGH while fighting them, and while I might comment on said students' mental sanity, it means the Grimm aren't all that strong. Rarer Grimm might, but Beowolves and Ursai must be pushovers. So Jaune, who has been sparring with other students (even if losing), must consider Grimm weak too._**

 ** _Moving onto his team's reaction to his forged transcripts. Blake is a former terrorist, she'd better shut up. Yang trashed a pub and injured civilians - again something worse than forgery. And Sky... I hope I've been portraying him right. In my opinion Sky is just a guy who goes along with the others. With CRDL in canon he was 'bad'. With them in this fanfiction, he is 'good'. He might change later, but right now he's mostly just the one who accepts anything and rarely speaks up, even though he does have an opinion. I hope I made that clear._**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	14. Speaking of the Heart

**_Okay, gotta say that I'm very sorry for going AWOL. My brother came back from Italy, I've had lots of home chores to attend to, I had to request an extension for my translation work because my editor had trouble and hadn't been able to even look at the file yet, and I've had an incredible case of writer's block on this. But now, now I have changed the plot and I have renewed energies! I hope you will enjoy this chapter._**

" _I ordered a steak_."

The waiter stiffened as Yang spoke up, but she wasn't done. Glaring down at her plate, the blonde grabbed the man's head and forced it down to her level. "I ordered a _steak_ , not a _cutlet_. FIX THIS IMMEDIATELY!"

The poor male grabbed another plate and ran off, trying to put as much distance as he could between him and the raging blonde. For his trouble, he got a bottle of SchneeCola hitting his back with enough strength to burst and make him stumble, his dress now soaked in the liquid. "And hurry up!"

Meanwhile, another waiter was having just as much difficulty pleasing Weiss, who was looking at him in pure, unadulterated disgust. "This omelette tastes like ash. I do not wish to be food-poisoned by your cuisine. Shall you fail me again, I will be forced to take action," she threatened with her coldest glare possible.

"More cookies!" exclaimed Ruby, slamming her hand down onto the table in an adorable manner.

"I ordered salmon, and you brought me trout," Blake seethed, glaring -although she was slightly drooling- at the fish fillet she had been served. "I. Want. Salmon."

"O-Of course!" stammered the poor waiter, dashing away with a scared expression.

"This pancakes have too little syrup!" protested Nora, showing her food. The syrup was so thick on the pancakes, that all they could do was to _guess_ there were any pancakes underneath. "Bring me more!"

Jaune sighed as he looked at his friends and teammates. "Guys, seriously, just give them a break, will you?" He glanced with pity at the four members of Team CRDS, who were forced to act as their butlers for the day. "They don't deserve _this_."

"Let's agree to disagree," replied Yang, picking at her cutlet. "You may be this forgiving, but they tried to seriously harm you, Lil' Brother. They deserve anything we can throw at them."

"And Ms Goodwitch did say to make their punishment harsh after Ozpin forbade her from chaining them into the dungeons and forget about them," added Blake, clearly amused by her position of punisher. "We might as well make it count."

"That's true, and surely this is better than what Auntie would've done to them, but still I believe we're being a little bit _too_ vengeful toward them." Jaune winced at seeing Russel hurry back with Yang's steak. "I mean, they don't even know how to cook properly…"

Russel flushed, but seriously there was no other way of putting it. Even their best attempts were poorly done. Jaune was sure even Pyrrha could cook better than them – and Pyrrha had, last time she tried, set the kitchen on fire. Apparently training for fighting your whole life made you far worse in other fields of expertise.

"I can second that," agreed Sky, pushing his plate of pasta away from him. "That's just nasty…"

The Mohawk-haired boy deflated before he hurried off back into the kitchens. Jaune sighed. "Sure, they suck at cooking, but this is just plain cruel. Besides, I'd like for them not to have a grudge against us, thank you."

"Hey, they were the one in the wrong, not us," Yang defended herself. "Not my fault if they got what they deserve!"

"However, Jaune might be right, we _are_ being exceptionally mean to them," noted Blake, looking in disgusts at the plate of what _should_ have been salmon before her. She pushed it away. "This might come to bite us in the ass very soon. I suggest we just leave them be."

"I vote for leaving them be," said Jaune.

"I vote against," replied Yang, and Weiss echoed her words.

"I side with Blake and Jaune," added Pyrrha, and Ruby nodded vigorously.

"And I say we up their punishment!" exclaimed Nora. Four whimpers could be heard from the kitchen.

Ren and Sky exchanged glances before just shrugging. "Honestly, we are not going to take sides in this," stated the greyish blue haired boy. "I'm fine with either choice, just let's not get in trouble."

"But if we do not punish them, what will we do?!" Nora despaired dramatically, already crying rivers of tears. "We won't have anything to do, and then we will have to get bored, and then we will die of boredom because the Boredom Monster will eat us!"

Ren placed a calming hand on her shoulder while the others ignored her drama. "We'll just find something else to do, Nora… I'm pretty sure your homework would be the perfect start." Ignoring her exaggerated whimper, Ren looked at the others. "Though, Nora is right. Today is just too quiet. Anyone has any idea?"

"Why don't we go to Vale?" proposed Yang with a cheeky grin. "Seriously it's been forever since we last went there. Plus Jaune here _must_ get a new outfit. I mean, he can't use his new weapon in jeans and hoodie, it'd be far too un-cool!"

"Thank you," snorted the boy.

"You're welcome, Lil' Brother. After all, I can't let you parade around with… those… what kind of sister would I be?" Yang lit up as an idea zapped through her brain. "And I know just the person we need. Ever heard of Coco Adel, Velvet Scarlatina's team leader?"

"Whose team leader?"

"Velvet Scarlatina. Rabbit Faunus, brown hair, brown eyes, lithe, masochist, the one you saved from Cardin with your railgun?" He nodded slowly. "That's the girl. Coco is her team leader, I'm sure she'll be happy to repay the guy who helped her teammate out… or at least tried to. You couldn't have known of Velvet's… peculiarity." Yang cleared her throat as everyone looked kinda embarrassed. "Anyway, I've heard that Coco is, like, an expert in the fashion field, so yeah if we have her help we might get you a nice outfit."

"But… do you know her?" asked the boy.

"Well, no, but ramming into someone is the best way to make friends," shrugged Yang, earning disbelieving looks from everyone else. "What? It surely does get the conversation started, and that's all you need."

"I have no idea who told you that, but that's obviously false," replied Blake, rolling her eyes. "If anything that is a good way of making enemies."

"And what would _you_ do? Stay silent with your book and try to pretend they don't exist?"

"Well, it does get me what I want."

"But it's a horrible way of making friends!"

"Before this degenerates into an argument," Sky butted in. "Let me say that while Coco's help might be handy, we don't _need_ her to find some decent clothes. As far as I know, you all have clothes, and I doubt Coco was there to handpick everyone of them. We can do without her. I myself might try to find some casual clothes. Y'know, _not armour_."

"Bah! My combat clothes and my casual clothes are the same!" exclaimed Yang, snorting. "I mean, they both have the same goal -to make me look fantastic- so why should I have 'casual' clothes? I mean, having multiple outfits is cool and all, but I would never go around with baggy clothes! And if it's not baggy, it's combat clothing. So really, I don't need this trip."

"What did she say?" asked Sky, confused.

"She said that her combat outfit doubles as casual clothes, since her combat outfit does not include armour," Weiss explained with a sigh. The boy made a sound of realization. "I can't say I need clothes, plus I can just purchase them online, so I fear you'll have to do without me."

"Nora and I have no need for extra clothes, either," Ren spoke up quietly, and immediately fell silent again. Nora was too busy eating her non-CRDS-cooked pancakes to speak.

"I am so _not_ coming!" exclaimed Ruby, as if horrified by the mere idea. "Shopping trips with Yang always end up lasting hours, a few times the shops had to kick us out because they were closing!" Jaune paled as she went on, pointing an accusing finger at her sister. "You force everyone to try on _thousands_ of clothes, even if you already know that nine tenths of those clothes will be discarded! And you take _forever_ to choose your own clothes! I am _so_ not coming!"

"Fine, it can be me, Lil' Brother and Sky. Let it never be said I can be intimidated by something as frivolous as disapproval!" Yang clamped a vice-like hand on Jaune's arm and grinned. "Now, Jauney, we must catch a Bullhead and quickly. Our shopping trip has just begun. Sky, feel free to catch up with us at any time."

"Will do."

"No, w-wait, do I get a say in this?!" panicked the boy.

"Nope."

/-/

"So~… How is being 'linked' with someone?"

Ruby raised her eyes from the textbook she was -vainly- trying to study on, and blinked at one Nora Valkyrie who was standing right in front of her. "Er…" After she had uttered her extremely intelligent and profoundly clever reply, she actually thought about her answer. Finally, she reached a conclusion. "Uhm…"

No one ever said her conclusion would've been an intelligent one.

"Nora, you still have your homework!" Ren called from Team PWVR's study table, but the gingerhead apparently ignored him, even though Ruby noticed her eyes glancing at him for a brief instant.

"Come on~" Nora encouraged her, or at least tried to encourage her. "Does it feel any different than… before? You know, your first life?"

First life. Those two words should've been absurd, placed in that order, and yet they made perfect sense. First life. It sounded like something from a videogame 'You died. Would you like to use your second life and respawn?'

She shook her head to clear it from any unwanted thought. Her life was not a videogame, no matter how much easier it would be if it were. "Well… it's… hard to explain…" She focused on the word 'think' written on the textbook, ignoring the rest of the sentence. "It's… kinda the same. Just that sometimes I can easily read Jaune's mood, and apparently sometimes we can use each other's Aura."

"Cool, but not what I meant!" chirped Nora, plopping down on the chair beside her. "How are you handling this between you and Jaune?"

"What do you mean?" asked Ruby, confused. "We… kind of aren't handling it. We're just going on with our lives."

"Ah ah ah!" Nora wagged a finger at her, as if scolding her for her answer. "That's bad, that's really bad. I mean, have you even thought about what would happen if you were to live your lives, each on their own? You are 'linked', so you'd probably have to stick together!"

"But nothing happens even when we are separated," Ruby pointed out. After all, Jaune was in Vale at the current moment, being tortured by Yang, and she didn't feel any different. Maybe a tad guilty, but not even much. "So why would we worry about not sticking together? I mean, I do want to keep in touch with him, he's my best friend! It's just that I don't think anything would happen if we were to be separated."

Nora sighed and shook her head. "Ruby, you are so innocent. You have this wonderful opportunity, and you are wasting it." She leaned in with a conspirational look and whispered in her ear, "What if another girl gets him while you're not there?"

Heat crept up the redhead's cheeks at that last remark. "W-What?! We're not together!"

Nora nodded soberly. "I know, Ren and I are the same. That's why I am constantly beside him. If we were together-together, I would trust him not to be ensnared by some harpy, but right now he's defenceless without me. I have to protect him from any… _foul beast_." She clapped her back with a grin, the force behind it enough to make her choke out a lung. "That's why you have to either make your move and get Jauney, or stay around him. What if he meets a girl at the mall and she ensnares him?"

Ruby squeaked, now fully red, at the implications. "Nora, I do not have a crush on Jaune!"

"Your words, not mine," she grinned without a hint of regret in her voice. "What if that wench has a D-cup and tries to smother him in her tits? I've seen that done _many_ times, I've even used it on Ren! But don't tell him!" Nora leaned closer. "What if she's got a very nice ass? Round and firm? What if she's as tall as he is, and not barely over five feet? What if she's got long, shapely legs, with barely any cloth covering them? Jaune could be caught in her web of charms, and you'd lose your chance!"

"N-N-Nora, I-I told y-y-you I'm no-ot c-c-c-crush-i-ing on J-Jaune!" stammered Ruby, her blush almost steaming from the sheer amount of blood rushing to her face.

"I know. But if he gets caught, you lose your chance to see if you two might've been something more than just friends," replied Nora, tapping her on the nose. "To see if you two could boop. If you two give it a shot, and it doesn't work out, fine: let him get ensnared by a girl like the one I described earlier. But don't let a damn harpy take your man before you can even get the chance to find out whether you like him or not!"

"I don't see him that way!" Ruby whisper-yelled back.

Nora's grin would've scared a Grimm. "We'll see on that," she replied eerily. "Tell me, what do you think of him? After all, I can't give you advice on what to do if I don't know anything about your feelings."

"I said I don't have a crush on Jaune!" Ruby tried to diffuse the situation before it could degenerated too much, but only Ren could stop Nora, and Ren was busy studying. "Nora, please, just stop."

"Okay, let's tone it down," snorted Nora, clearly amused by her denial. _'Heh, once I too went through a similar phase. I couldn't stop denying to myself that I loved Renny. Not the best period of my life, honestly. It is much better to know what my heart tries to tell me, and of course to know that I have to break the legs of every person who tries to flirt with my Renny!'_ "What do you think of Jaune?"

Ruby took a few minutes to let her blush die down, and then a few more seconds to think of the answer. "Well, he's… nice? Yeah, nice, I guess. I mean, he's friendly and funny at times, even though he isn't always funny on purpose. He doesn't know much about some stuff, but you'd be surprised by how much he knows on the strangest topics. Like, he is not really up to date with the news, but he can tell you the history of many important places like he did with Fort Castle in Oobleck's class." She tried to remember anything else about the blond. "Oh, he's also a good smith, and he knows lots of dead languages and dialects from his family's travels around the world, even though he told me he can hold only a simple conversation in those languages. So yeah, he's… nice. Kinda the odd one out here, but nice."

Nora racked her mind to try and find something in her speech to use against her, and grinned. "Wait, you said he's a smith, have you _seen_ him forging? Shouldn't Cauchemar be a mechashift weapon?"

"I've seen him forge, yes, and yes Cauchemar _is_ a _wonderful_ mechashift weapon, but we still had to forge the custom pieces," Ruby pointed out with a smile, finally in her element. "And he assisted me when we had to forge them. I'll admit, I used harder metals because I had him to help me, he's much stronger than I am, but in my defence he wanted to learn how to forge mechashift."

"I've seen him forge too, when he was forging whatever-its-name-was to resurrect you," nodded Nora. "Did you enjoy the view? I'm sure you wouldn't be the first. Blakey looked like she wanted to jump him right then and there… must be all her books. Pyrrha told me she kept all kinds of dirty books hidden under her bed."

"W-What?! N-No, of course not!" Ruby sputtered out, straight into Nora's trap.

"And that settles it, you're at the very least crushing on him, even if not much," she grinned triumphantly. "I mean, _I_ was enjoying the view too! Denying you were either makes you asexual, not interested in guys, plain weird, _oooooor_ ~ in denial!"

Ruby whimpered and hid her face into her hands.

"Come on, is it really that bad?" Nora lost her cheeky grin and nudged her with her elbow. "Honestly now. Would it really be that bad if you were to like-like Jaune? I mean, you said it yourself, he's nice, he's kind, and he's cute. I'm not saying you _have_ to, just… would it really be a bad thing to have a crush on him?"

"I-I don't have a crush on him!"

"Come on, stop being a child and look at me." Ruby did so, and Nora's face was devoid of her usual oddness. A sober expression had now settled on her features. "He's a good guy. Not the best, not the worst. Kinda average in some stuff, pretty good in others, pretty bad in yet others. All in all, he's not some green alien with three heads and one foot. And you are a teenager, and as such you have hormones. There is no shame in admitting you might like him. Seriously, think about it. Would you like if there was something more between you?"

Ruby looked down and bit her lip. She had to think about it. She had entertained the thought a couple of times, sure, but she had always discarded it. _'I wouldn't mind… but that doesn't mean I'm in love with him… ugh, what does this mean?'_ She turned to look at her fellow short redhead, and shrugged helplessly. "Maybe?"

"That's all I ask for." Nora regained her usual mad grin. "So… Nora Matchmaker Company offers their services. All you need is to say yes."

Ruby peered at her from between her fingers, not seeing how it could've gone wrong. Worst case scenario, she would've ended up realizing that she did not like Jaune that way, or realizing that she did but Jaune didn't return her feelings. Best case scenario, she'd end up with a boyfriend. The thought made her blush. All in all, she didn't feel like she had anything to lose. "Okay."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"I said you need to say _yes_ , not 'okay'."

"Oh, sorry. Yes."

/-/

"What about this?"

Yang caressed her chin as she took in Jaune's current outfit. He had chosen to follow his weapon's colour theme with dark blue clothing. The nightsky blue pants were tucked into the black combat boots, and a simple silver belt could be seen under the dark blue coat he wore over an electric blue shirt. Blue gloves completed the outfit. It was nice, she had to admit it, but she couldn't help but shake her head.

"Nope, this is not gonna work. Come on, try the next one."

"Well…" Jaune awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "The next is more or less like this one, just with a vest instead of a coat. Most of the outfits I picked follow this colour theme."

Yang shrugged. "I don't see the problem. Most people in Beacon follow personal colour themes. Me included, even though I'm a bit more… varied in the colours I wear. Like brown for my jacket and boots even though my colour theme is yellow."

Jaune glared at the pile of clothes he still had to try on and sighed. "It's gonna take forever to find an outfit that satisfies you, Yang. We picked _all_ the dark blue clothes this shop has…" _'Dark blue… but why_ _ **dark**_ _blue? Why not just blue? After all, my eyes are blue. Well, were, now they are…'_ A lightbulb could be seen lighting up over his head, and he hurried to return all the clothes to their original places, ignoring Yang's protests. "Of course, that's what was wrong! We were trying to follow Cauchemar's colour theme, but my colour theme is double!"

"Jaune, what you just said makes no sense," Yang deadpanned at him. "How can a colour be two colours?"

"A colour cannot be two colours, but a colour _theme_ can contain two colours," Jaune grinned triumphantly, pointing at his left eye, that sparkled brightly. "Blue, _and silver_. That's why we were wrong. We should pick both blue and silver clothing. I wouldn't normally care about clothes so much since I used to wear armour over it, but now that my new weapon has so many forms, armour would only hinder me. So, without armour, I have to be careful with what I wear! As sure as Oum I'm not going to fight in jeans and hoodie!"

"Since when you have such a good fashion sense?" Yang asked, suspicion thick in her voice.

Jaune waved her off. "I have seven sisters, Yang. Well, nine if you have really adopted me. Anyway, I picked up a lot of skills from them. I always cared more for the practicalness of an outfit rather than it's fashionableness, but now… Well, I'm sure you understand."

"I don't understand how your mother can be even alive after having had eight children, but yes the rest I can understand," snorted the female blond, glancing at the pile of clothes he was gathering. "So, gonna put them on, or should I return to play Epic Grimm Fantasy 17 on my Scroll? I'm fighting the area six's boss."

"I'm gonna put them now, but do play if you want," replied the boy. "Oh, and as for the game, what characters do you use?"

Yang snorted. "Gaia, Chrono and Hades, of course. Oh, and I have Ares as backup. Gaia has the Hammer of Earth level eighteen, Chrono has the Lance of Thunder level sixteen -still trying to find a Core of Lightning dammit-, Hades has a Staff of Magic level eighteen, and Ares has a Missile Launcher of Doom level fifteen."

Jaune snorted. "Earth, lightning and magic damage. The boss, Centurion, is immune to magic damage, immune to negative status effects, and has fifty percent resistance against earth. Lightning deals double damage though. I suggest you buff your characters' defences and only use Chrono to attack. Keep his MP always high. Use the other two for buff-ups and healing."

Now it was Yang's turn to snort. "Sure. Boy, I don't know how much you've played this game, but I've won Epic Grimm Fantasy 16 with these characters. Don't tell me what I need to do."

He just shrugged. "Fine. When you die, don't come crying."

After entering the changing room, he quickly pulled off his clothes. Then he replaced them with the new ones, and took a minute or two to look at himself in the mirror.

He was now wearing deep blue baggy trousers that were tucked into silver combat boots, and the belt had disappeared. Now, tied at his waist there was a silver sash whose loose ends dangled from his left hip, the same side as his silver eye, one a few inches longer than the other. Instead of the plain blue shirt, he was now wearing a much better shirt. Its lower half was dark blue, but as it went higher the colour faded to a bright silver around the collar and over the shoulders. Over the shirt he wore a deep blue jacket that, like the shirt, faded to silver. However, the jacket was the opposite: instead of having the silver focused on the upper half, it was focused on the lower hem, and on the sleeves' forearms. He had decided against gloves, but instead he had chosen to tied a dark blue cloth around his forehead, as if to keep his hair back. The dark colour contrasted nicely with his fair skin and golden hair, and of course his red-tipped black locks.

That could do. That _would_ do. Since he wouldn't have to wear any armour over it, he could leave use that outfit without worrying about the armour ruining the jacket. Speaking of which, he tried zipping up the jacket, and smiled at the result. He liked the outfit with the jacket closed too. At least he wouldn't have to worry about being un-cool when he was cold. Especially not after all the effort he put into finding the right outfit.

The blue of his outfit wasn't like the dark blue of his weapon, Cauchemar, but more like the deep blue of his right eye. It wasn't exactly a ninja-like outfit, even if it surely felt like it, but after all neither Blake's nor Ren's outfits were ninja-like, either. He was trash at being furtive and at stealth, so the most important thing to him was that his new outfit was comfortable, and looked nice. He'd have to buy several spares of it, since it was apparent that everyone in Beacon only had one outfit – two if they were lucky, three if one counted the uniform.

Falling into a rudimental unarmed stance, he tried launching a few punches at the air, finding that the clothes didn't hinder him at all, and he got the same result when he tried kicking. Not willing to risk hitting the walls, he decided to finally get Yang's opinion. Exiting from the stall with confidence in his step and a smile on his face, he walked up to the blonde beauty and waited for her to acknowledge him.

When she did, she looked him up and down before she grumbled, "Can work. At least it looks like Hunter gear and not civilian clothing."

Jaune grinned at her, and then at the Scroll she was clutching tightly in her hands. "Did you lose?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"So~?"

"…ninety-six thousands hit points was just overkill," Yang finally blurted out. "And that's without counting the ten thousands damages it did at every hit. Oh, and also the ninety percent chance of instant death. Plus it called four Deathstalkers level thirty-seven at the beginning of every round."

Jaune laughed at her grief and his day, suddenly, was utterly perfect.

 ** _Props to who guess what 'Epic Grimm Fantasy' really is. Cue: it's a game I've been playing in the past three days when I was too uninspired to write. And some bosses were just overkill, like: my characters have 2000 HP average, and the boss has over 10k HP, and summons foes at every turn. WTF?!_**

 ** _Anyway, let's move on. Yay, Jaune got a new outfit, let's move on._**

 ** _Nora. Ah, Nora, how can she be so wise, and at the same time so weird? It's one of her charms. Still not sure whether to make her a Yandere or not, honestly, but probably not. I just have a hard time writing that, and I absolutely loathe reading Yandere stuff._**

 ** _Final comment: I often read, especially when 'meeting' Coco, of her just bumbing into the main character, and suddenly dragging them off to shopping, and becoming friends with them like that. Or, like, having the main character's outgoing friend asking her to help, and accepting without a second thought, and that has always irked me a lot. Feels very fake to just meet someone and go out shopping with them. It might be me, but to me it feels fake. Forced._**

 ** _Again, I might just be too antisocial to even entertain the idea._**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	15. Gaming Woes

_**Hey guys! I know I've been… well, absent as foretold, but yeah me being offline kinda sucks. I hate to leave people hanging with PMs. So yeah, I'm sorry.**_

 _ **Also, next time a chapter goes haywire like it happened with Demonic Redemption Ch4's first draft, please do not swarm my Inbox or review section. Check if there is already a review pointing it out, and if not, please write one. I appreciate the help, I really do, but last time I got 8 PMs and over 23 reviews telling me that… plus one saint of a reviewer who literally re-edited the chapter and posted it in the reviews section. While kinda messy and jarring, they did one hell of a job just for me and my story, so yeah here I'm really grateful. ^^**_

 _ **Anyway, if you're wondering why I skipped ViewingTES on my update list, well the reason is pretty simple. I need to copy the TES chapter from files LordHellPhoenix sends me, so if I have no WiFi or connection, I cannot get those chapter files. As such, I cannot write ViewingTES when I am offline. Sorry, I will try to update it soon. While I'm offline, though, I will continue to write the non-reaction stories. ^^**_

 _ **This chapter is mainly just shits'n'giggles, so beware: if you came here looking for a nice plot, turn away now and don't look back. I'm trying, I'm trying hard, but plot and humour/comedy just don't fit well with me. Coeur Al'Aran is a master of balancing comedy and plot. I unfortunately am not.**_

"Listen, I'm not telling you to drop the game, just adapt your characters to the monsters you fight!"

"No! I'm pissed! I'm pissed at the game for being impossible, and I'm pissed at _you_ for defeating the area eight's boss in literally four turns! I'm uninstalling it as soon as I can!"

"You just had to think about it! Of course if you use Fire Dust on a fire-based boss you're gonna lose!"

"Blasphemy! Fire Dust always work! Blast 'em to pieces, that's my motto!"

"Yang, for the love of Oum you can't win with that strategy, and if you can't win you're gonna get angry, and if you get angry _I_ am the one who pays for it!"

Several customers turned toward the ruckus as the two blondes went on and on with their argument. A nervous clerk looked like she _really_ wanted them to be quiet, but she did not have the guts to go and tell them to quiet down. Some customers were used to Hunters and Hunters in training, those being the ones who ignored the noise, but others were clearly curious as to what could cause the two teenagers to be so upset.

The answer was simple. Videogames. Or, to be specific, RPG videogames.

Jaune had tried. When it became clear that Epic Grimm Fantasy couldn't work well with Yang Xiao Long, the boy had tried to introduce her to other types of RPG. He had tried Magma Monster. He had tried Cave Escave – Yang had laughed at the pun, much to his chagrin. The creator of the game, a certain TaiXL, was going to pay for that. He had tried The Legend of Amzo – he still didn't know why it was called like that. He had tried Grimm Rule – whose creator, ArthurW, had a very extensive knowledge of the Grimm. He had tried Kill the Maiden – still by the same programmer, the objective of the game was to deal as much damage as possible to the black-haired, amber-eyed woman in red that continued to run screaming across the map's locations. He and Yang had a good laugh at that.

However, all those games had a flaw. Once the first levels had passed, the player had to start using their brain to figure out how to continue without dying, losing, or getting stuck. In Magma Monster that point was during the journey across Atlas, where the cold invariably turned Yang's lava monster into stone. In Cave Escave, as soon as timed puzzles began to appear, Yang couldn't get past them in time. In the Legend of Amzo, to free the girl trapped in the tower, Yang had to carefully store her magic powers… and she of course always used them all against the first enemies. In Grimm Rule, Yang pushed all her resources into launching attacks instead of empowering Grimm or researching more technology, or gaining allies. And in Kill the Maiden, Yang never used the traps, so she ended up uselessly chasing the 'Maiden' across the screen, without hope to really catch her.

Needless to be said, Yang was not in a good mood.

Jaune knew he could've just allowed her to play a fighting game, but he couldn't give up. Yang's utter lack of any strategy other than 'smash them to pieces' was appalling. How had she survived that long?

"Okay, let's try another one. Like… what about… what's this… oh, this is new! 'Fall of Beacon'. Let me read the description." The boy wiped up the screen of his Scroll. "Oh look, it's the same woman from Kill the Maiden. The author's the same. Now… here. _'Join Ember Autumn, Sapphire Sushi and Platinum Grey as they hatch a plan to destroy Beacon Academy. Use your contacts with the Valean criminal underworld, threaten others into serving you, take control of the White Fang, and finally lead an army of Grimm into the school in time for the Vytal Festival. Unique Grimm contents! Gore-less mode available_ _for children_ _! Five levels of difficulty! Seven stages! Control your underlings directly with the change of PoV! Second-screen feature accessible!'_ Wow, this looks awesome. All of ArthurW's works are masterpieces. Wanna try it?"

"Jaune, you need to _plan_ for that," Yang deadpanned at him. "Me, awful planner, remember? Died in Magma Monster stage four of a hundred because of that. Comprendo?"

"Come on, it's a new ArthurW game! You can't _not_ play it!" protested the boy, already hitting 'Play Online' on his Scroll.

"Is he really that famous?" asked Yang. "I've never heard of him."

"Well, his games usually require intelligence and wit so… err… let's just say you don't usually look for those types of game." Jaune sighed in relief as Yang's eyes remained lilac, proving he had given the right answer. "He's done lots of games. A week ago he posted this video of himself playing the prototype of this new game, back then still nameless, where he had to infiltrate Beacon Academy and hack the CCT Tower, and then hack the military's own computers. It was epic. Like, he wasn't really all that good at using his character's fighting skills. Platinum Grey -one of his recent new characters- has like ten levels more than any student of Beacon, and he still doesn't use him. But other than that, every video of himself playing he does is always so awesome. He's totally my idol."

"That's nice and all, but why can't I just play my fighting games?" snorted Yang, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Please. Just try this one," he begged her, literally going down on one knee and raised his hands to the sky, clasped in prayer. "Please, Big Sis, just one more."

When Yang groaned and looked away, he knew he had her.

/-/

"Wow, Jauney, that's absolutely awesome! Not as awesome as Ren but close!" Of course Nora was the first one to give her opinion of his new combat outfit. She had barely looked at it, and to be honest everyone already knew what she was going to say even before she had actually opened her mouth.

Ren came next, "It does fit your weapon, and it does not seem to hinder you. I supposed that's what matters." As usual, Jaune did not really understand what he meant. He was pretty sure it was meant to be a compliment, but it also sounded like it was practical but did not fit Jaune.

"It's nice," commented Blake, returning to read without as much as a second glance. "Better than jeans and hoodie, at least."

"And that's not saying much, but I dig it," Sky agreed with a thumbs-up. "I mean, it sucks that I've lost the only armour buddy here aside from Pyrrha, but I'll get over it… I think. Anyway, it's nice. You look like a ninja." That last comment made Blake start to read a little more intensely, for whatever the reason.

Probably a reason related to her books.

"That's so cool! I mean, it'd be cooler if you had a cape, but that's fine! Capes are _my_ thing!" Ruby was barely visible as she zoomed around Jaune several times per second. "But if you want a cape or a cloak, you can! I give you permission to copy my style!"

"No Ruby, he can't wear a cape or a cloak. His weapons are placed on his back, and Cauchemar's handle sticks out from over his left shoulder. That makes cloaks unwearable," explained Weiss before turning to look at the boy. "As for your outfit, I guess it is… fitting."

"Is that a compliment, or an insult to both Jaune and his outfit?" asked Nora, a little confused.

Everyone had a small laugh at the heiress's expense at that.

"Anyway, Ruby, shopping with Yang wasn't all that bad. I mean, we got done pretty quickly," said Jaune, sitting down beside the redhead with his dinner tray. "Then we got lost playing RPGs, of course."

"Oh, really?" exclaimed Ruby. "You managed to get Yang to play an RPG?"

"Hey!"

"Well… kind of. She lost every time she tried, and she lost badly. Awfully bad," replied the boy, earning himself a slap to the back of his head from Yang. "Really Ruby, your sister sucks at videogames. She even manage to die in Kill the Maiden!"

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"N-"

"Yes Ruby she did!" snapped Jaune, growing tired of the little game. "And in Grimm Rule, she literally lasted fifteen minutes!"

"How is that even possible? That's a game you can't just _lose_. You have infinite Grimm to use!" protested Ruby, shock written all over her face. "I mean, the only way you could lose would be if you… no."

"Yes."

"No. Yang may suck but not _that_ much."

"Why are you so upset?" asked Pyrrha, shyly. "I mean, I haven't played any of those videogames, but I've been told losing is part of the game."

"No, Pyrrha, you don't understand. In Grimm Rule, you begin with lots and lots of Grimm. For you to lose, you would need to allow Hunters to come into your castle. And they must be extremely powerful Hunters too, because your castle is automatically guarded by some sort of Grimm Wyvern. Four of them. You'd literally have to never even _look_ at your status screen!" Jaune shook his head in desperation. "And she managed to die in Kill the Maiden, caught by her own trap. I can't believe it."

Weiss scoffed. "You shouldn't focus so much on such details. Playing videogames is not so important."

"That's because you suck at gaming, I just know it," Yang shot back. "I bet even I am better than you. Besides, Jaune said I got better after the first hour of tutoring."

"I said _marginally_ better!" corrected the boy. "Don't make me say just how bad you still are."

"I can beat you at anything, anytime, _Xiao Long_ ," Weiss hissed, leaning slightly forwards for added effect.

"Game night!" And just like that, the tension in the air was shattered before it could even build up, all thanks to Nora. The hyperactive bomber literally jumped on the table, somehow not stepping on anyone's food, and grinned down at them. "Tonight, by your dorm!"

"Wait, you can't invite yourself in our dorm!" Blake protested.

"Why not? It makes sense! You have Jaune, Ruby and Yang, all gaming fanatics, so we'll use their stuff!" Nora obviously did not see the flaws in her reasoning, but they had learned to let Nora be Nora. Goodwitch didn't even get angry any more whenever she found yet another pink Dust crystal laying around. "Plus you have five beds, so there's more space for us to sit on!"

"Hey now, I never said I-"

Weiss's interruption went unheard by Nora, or maybe just ignored. "And we can play all kinds of games! Smash Smash Grimm, Hammer Time, The Way of the Hammer, When Everything Looks Like A Nail-"

"I never heard of that one," noted Yang.

"She just made it up," sighed Ren.

"-and lots of other fun smashing games!" Nora completed, full of enthusiasm. Jaune, Yang and Ruby were all for it. Ren was reluctantly forced to accept because of Nora. Sky wasn't against it. Blake, Weiss and Pyrrha, however, seemed uninterested. And that couldn't do. "Weiss~ Are you scared of competing in a little game?"

"I am not scared," huffed the girl, "I just don't see the point in taking part of this while I could study."

"Oh, but you study all day! It's so _booooooring_!" complained the hammer wielder, laying down on the bench. "Pweeeeeeaaaaaase?"

"Nora, you're making a scene." Weiss's eyebrow twitched at her remark being ignored, but she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. "Nora, stop it." Still no signs of stopping. If anything, Nora's wails got louder and more desperate. "Ugh, fine! Just stop it!"

"Okay dokey!" Tears pushed back, the girl turned on Blake, who just shook her head, hiding her face into her book. However, Nora did not need to cry again to know what to do. "Blakey~~~ Come on~~~ Blaaaaaake~~~"

Her bow twitched.

"Blake! Blake! Blake! Blake!" With every repetition of her name, Nora began to appear and disappear around the girl, a _pop_ accompanying every appearance. "Blake! Blake! Blake! Blake! Blake! Blake! Blake!" Changing rhythm, Nora began to sing-song the word. "Blaaake~ Blakeeee~ Blaaa _aaa_ aake~ Blake~~~ B! B! B! Blake! Bella-donna! Yo!"

The rap version of her name seemingly broke her. "Fine! I'll come too! Just stop repeating my name! Stop it! It's driving me insane!" Nora stopped with a huge grin on her face, and Blake face-palmed. "Is this what you've had to deal with every day of your life?" she asked Ren. "Because I would've either killed her, or killed myself."

"After a while, you get used to her," shrugged the boy. "And besides, despite all her quirks, Nora is a very good companion… even though she can only keep silent for two minutes or so before having to make some sort of noise."

"Yeah, I'm awesome like that," boasted the girl, before turning to face her last victi… _friend_. Pyrrha Nikos, despite having faced far greater opponents that a five-feet-tall gingerhead, seemed to flinch at her sudden gaze. "You. Game nights are great ways of socializing. You. Us. Game night. Socializing. You make friends. Duh. Capisce?"

"Nora, Pyrrha is not a troglodyte, so stop treating her like one!" Weiss snapped at the redhead, but she didn't care. Instead, she got very close to the taller girl, smirked, and leaned in.

"Besides, if you want others to look past your fame like you sleeptalk about, what is better than to let them see your inner gamer?" she whispered in her ear. "You might even get to learn that you like videogames."

Pyrrha coughed politely into her hand -how she managed to cough _politely_ , no one knew, but polite was something always associated to the redhead girl- and gently pushed Nora away. "I don't see any harm in this, after all. Besides, we don't have anything else to do."

/-/

Cinder Fall was having a fine day.

Her plans were going smoothly. Roman Torchwick had, after some _persuasion_ on her part, agreed to work for her for free. The White Fang, those stupid animals, were happy to be able to 'deal a crippling blow to the oppressive civilization of mankind'. Even Adam Taurus had accepted to work for a human. His hypocrisy was not lost to her. The Dust thefts were going pretty well, and they were planning on hijacking that new SDC shipment's cargo. If that worked, they would've been able to move onto phase two of her plan. Emerald and Mercury, those two hapless fools, were so arrogant and full of themselves they were happy to do anything she told them to just to ingratiate themselves to her. Neo, that psychotic assassin, had just threatened to kill her if anything happened to Torchwick. How cute, in her modest opinion, the amateur thought she could intimidate someone as powerful as Cinder Fall. And finally, the cherry on top of the cake, that fool Ozpin didn't even suspect a thing.

She was having a fine day. Until, suddenly, it wasn't a fine day any more.

"Come on, shoot her! Shoot her!"

"Shooting isn't gonna work, I'm conserving money to buy the grenade launcher, man. That deals a thousand damages per grenade. I ain't taking any chance."

"But she's gonna get away!"

"Don't fret, this is just stage fourteen. And in any case, the Maiden can't win, she can only run screaming across the map's locations."

Cinder froze and turned to the pair of White Fang grunts on break. They were bent over a Scroll. Silently, she moved behind them and watched as they blew up an exact copy of herself. The game's screen then showed the words 'Ember Autumn is dead. Good job! You up for next stage?'

Her eyebrow twitched, and the temperature in the room increased. However, she decided against roasting the two miserable animals -who still hadn't noticed her- and instead moved on. Her day could still be called good. She knew she was a cruel boss, so she supposed it was only fair for her underlings to try and take out their stress on a virtual version of her.

 _'It's not like they could do that to **me** ,'_ she gloated silently.

"You got found out."

"Shut up Em. This is, like, the hardest stage of the entire game! Ember is shit at stealth! All she can do is to shoot those fireballs of hers and she has that seduction skill of hers. How am I supposed to infiltrate the CCT without the entirety of Beacon noticing? Oh, someone's coming… fuck!"

"Who was it?"

"James fucking Ironwood. Headshot me the second the elevator's doors opened. Ugh. With Platinum Grey I could've taken him. Come on, combat-based assassin prepared to bring down an army against a single General. Sure victory. Ember Autumn sucks so very much."

Cinder ground her teeth together as she strode over to her loyal underlings and peered over their shoulders. As she had feared, Mercury was playing another game with her as a character. This time, 'she' had to infiltrate the CCT tower like her plan pertained. However, this time Mercury was directly controlling 'her' as 'she' moved through the area and knocked out the guards.

 _'Stay calm,'_ she told herself. _'It must have been Watts. It must. He is the only coding genius who knows of my plan. I am going to roast him alive when I see him again.'_

Her day had started off fine, and had become bad in just a few moments. However, if she tried hard enough, she was sure that she could find a way to restore her good mood and salvage her day. Like bossing Roman around.

"Neo, come on, I got a present for you. It's the new Torture Ember 4. I know you loved the first three. What? No, I know it's not your birthday. I just know you've been very stressed recently, so I wanted you to unwind a little with something else than eviscerating goons."

Her teeth creaked as they gritted together once more. Cinder Fall burst into the room and snatched the Scroll from Roman's hands. As the thief froze, she selected 'New Game' and glared at the screen as an exact virtual copy of herself was captured and stripped by some Grimm tentacles. Just when she began to fear what would come next, the video ended and a new image appeared. This time, it was 'her', naked as the day she was born, chained to the ceiling. A toolbar on the lower side of the screen showed all the tools that could be used on her. Knuckles, whip, chainsaw, knife, razor, rope, nails, rifle, Dust, and so many more tools to inflict pain to her. Just above the toolbar there was the red bar of 'her' health.

She looked up and met Torchwick's eyes. He gulped nervously.

"I can explain."

/-/

Ruby Rose was in quite the predicament. And, of course, it was all Nora's fault.

Somehow, she had been moved from her spot beside Sky to Jaune's side. That had been the first clue of Nora's involvement. Then, for some reason, when everyone got blankets, they received ones with pink hearts roughly sewn into them – Ruby had no idea where Nora had learned how to sew. Fortunately, Jaune was apparently used to weird blankets popping up during his game nights with his sisters, and eventually the weird blanket always ended up with him, so he had no problem with it. Then Nora kept insisting for her and Jaune to play together in all the teamplay RPG they played, and of course Ruby knew why it was that. Especially in the World of Dust series, because the players could access the romance route, and Nora had stolen Jaune's controller for long enough to activate it.

It wouldn't have been all that bad, had it ended there. Of course, they could've just deactivated it. But then Nora _and_ Yang had encouraged them not to, to see how they handled it. Nora and Ren had the romance active even if their characters stated to be 'not together-together' whenever asked, so Nora convinced Yang to convince Jaune and Ruby.

It would've been difficult to guess which one of the two blushed harder.

Eventually, they had deactivated it. But that was in the last game, World of Dust: the Fall of the Tyrant. And somehow Jaune had the newest WoD game, that meant more embarrassment for Ruby. Thankfully she was at least given a short break, since Pyrrha had just then arrived from the library with Weiss, and the two of them had to be 'educated'.

"So… what exactly is this?" Weiss asked, pointing at the CD cover. "It looks like a DVD."

"Meh, close enough," shrugged Jaune, inserting the CD in the SchneeStation under the TV's screen. "Anyway, this is World of Dust: Running Out. I've played it a little, but I never really got past stage one, so I know the initial plot. Basically, in this game Remnant is running out of Dust. Everything is going to ruin, people are panicked, Grimm swarm the cities, blah blah blah. Your goal is to find a way to either replenish the planet's resources of Dust, or to make Dust recyclable."

"That's impossible," rebutted the white-haired girl, knowledgeable as usual. Unfortunately, her knowledge was in real-life matters, not in videogames.

"It's a game, Weiss. Anyway, the characters can be Hunters, Researchers, or Survivors. Hunters are those with high combat skills, but low lore and medium support skills. Researchers have high lore to study the Dust crystals you find scattered across the various maps. And Survivors are basically those who have survived the worst of the crisis and have high support and healing skills, medium combat and low lore. Oh, Researchers too have medium healing."

"I'm following thus far," nodded Pyrrha, taking mental notes of the game.

"Well, that's basically it, at least at first. You find or create new equipment -oh, Yang, they fixed the max damage bug they had in the last game- and you can discover and explore new areas. Plus the graphics are just awesome." Jaune quickly selected New Game and gestured them to sit. "Thankfully we have enough secondary screens, hehe. Everyone, grab a joystick."

"Wait, if everyone has a personal screen, why are we using the TV screen too?" asked Weiss, pointing at the screen.

"It's a special configuration for multiplayer game sessions. The screen shows everyone's basic status, like health, Aura, level, and stats, so you don't need to check your Group Profile on your screen to see how the other is," explained Jaune as he quickly chose his character's attributes.

"Researcher, Jaune?" Yang snorted a laugh. "I thought you wanted to become a Hunter, not a scientist."

"If played right, the Researcher is the best choice, at least for the first stage of the game," Jaune shot back pettily. "With good equipment -and as Researcher I'm the best at crafting stuff- I can hold my own in combat, I also have medium support and healing skills -that means you don't die immediately- but most of all I got high lore. In this game, if you don't have lore, you are basically done for."

"He's right, Xiao Long," scoffed Weiss, choosing the Researcher herself. "Brute strength cannot win over fine intelligence."

"There is no right choice," noted Ren, wise as always. "You can play with any type of character. Besides, we are nine. I believe we can handle anything."

"You jinxed us," Ruby, Yang and Jaune all droned together, knowing all too well how games _always_ found a way to kill the entire party in a way that still made perfect sense.

"Is there anything else I should know of?" Pyrrha asked, gingerly taking her joystick.

"I don't think so," shrugged Jaune. "Ruby, you think there's something more? Yang, no, I'm not gonna tell them how they should make their characters, that's called ruining their fun." Ignoring her sister's outrage, Jaune turned to her, and his silver-and-blue eyes met her blue-and-silver ones, and for a second…

 _Skip_.

Ruby felt her heart skip a beat, then begin to pick up speed. For some reason, heat began to creep up her neck. Her hands felt clammy with sweat, but that was impossible, they had been clean a second prior. "I-I don't t-think so," she stammered shyly, breaking eye contact. Why had she stammered? And what was that warm feeling in her chest?

Part of those feelings, she already knew about. The warm had begun to appear whenever she was with Jaune a few days prior. Blushes and flusters as well sometimes happened, but mostly when she was embarrassed. She had almost never stammered when talking with Jaune. And that sudden shyness, that fear of it being not the right answer, that he had been expecting more… she had never felt like with Jaune. Jaune was Jaune: easygoing, friendly, awkward-yet-great at socializing, and of course kind. He would've never thought less of her just because she hadn't added anything to his explanation.

"Ruby." Her gaze moved back up from where it had fixed on the floor, and again she met Jaune's eyes. His smile was contagious. "You're upset. I don't know why, but I suggest you just store it for later. We're gonna start the game soon. Well… soonish. Sky is still unsure what to pick."

"They all suck!"

Ignoring Sky's complaint, Ruby nodded and pushed those thoughts away. The weight on her mind went away, and she felt the heat leave her cheeks and neck. It worked. Her hands didn't feel sweaty any more. Her heart was slowing down to a normal level. So those thoughts had been the problem. She moved next to Jaune and leaned slightly to his side while they waited for Sky to choose a character.

Maybe she had a crush on Jaune, and her body attempted to tell her like that. Maybe she didn't, and there was some other reason. In any case, she couldn't let those thoughts ruin her night with her friends.

Much later, when night had already fallen upon the nine students, and sleep had eventually claimed their game-exhausted bodies and minds, silence reigned. Had someone entered the dorm at that moment, they would've seen several things. They would've heard a sleeping Nora, holding onto Ren, who was muttering about pancakes, hammers, and Grimm nails, preparing a new dream that she would later tell the others. They would've seen Pyrrha Nikos, the Goddess of Victory, sprawled on the floor, with just her hair as pillow, muttering about it having been the best night of her life. They would've heard Blake purr in her sleep as she dreamed of eating tuna.

And lastly, had someone entered the room, they would've seen Ruby, Jaune and Yang, sitting against Ren's bed's side, with Ruby's head on his shoulder, and Jaune's head on top of her own, their joysticks still in their hands, while Yang's arm was around the both of them, like the big sister she was.

 _ **All the mentioned games are complete creations of my mind. They are not references to any existing videogame/series/whatever. If they are, it's not intentional.**_

 _ **Also, Legend of Amzo: Amzo is Ozma written backwards.**_

 _ **And yes, Watts programs videogames in his spare time, and of course he draws from his personal experience to create them. Oh, right, Torture Ember 4 is the only reference here, to the game Torture Game 3. I played it… when I was 11… and it was fun… hey, don't judge!**_

 _ **Again, I'm sorry for all the problems me being offline might cause. I usually check my Inbox… well, once every 10 minutes when I'm awake. I'm kinda obsessed with not making people wait for my answer.**_

 _ **Romance Status: yeah, finally. Ruby's got a crush. Yang is sisterly there for both. Wait, since when Yang is in the Romance Status section? Get out Yang! And Jaune… he's not oblivious like in all stories, it's just that I literally started the romance in this chapter! Give him time!**_

 _ **News about the author: here it's all kinda fine. I'm turning 17 in less than a month, so yay. I'm also going to take another translation work (I had to request an extension [ha ha ha…] for the current one because my editor is SLOOOOOW and still hasn't read it all) so I might be a little busier. But surely not by much, hehe.**_

 _ **Next chapter: we get to see more of Jaune's Semblance. Really, is there even an end to what it can do? Yes. Have I decided what its limits are? No. Lol.**_

 _ **Until next time,**_

 _ **Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh**_

 _ **PS: here is an Omake for you. A 'I'm sorry' gift for the lack of plot in this chapter. This takes place in a semi-canon AU, not in Extension's world. Thus, there are JNPR and RWBY, and Cardin bullies Jaune like in canon.**_

TOO CUTE

Jaune had had enough. He had had enough of Cardin's bullying, and he had had enough of being ridiculed every time he tried to stand up for himself. His friends didn't help, either, but he couldn't blame them: even when he was the victim, Goodwitch blamed him too. If they were to help him, they would surely get detention until the next year. Cardin's father was in the Council, so he had his ass covered, but Jaune had already been scolded for causing a scene or a fight. Oh, Goodwitch had scolded Cardin too, sure, but the words had entered his head from an ear and exited from the other.

Cardin had also decided to blackmail him, having him do really anything. After the accident with the Ursa, he knew the matter wasn't over, but at least Cardin's pride wouldn't allow him to blackmail someone who had saved his ass from a giant Grimm. The bully didn't know of Pyrrha's help, after all. He had not felt his own shield moving on its own.

Thus, Jaune was thoroughly fed up. He was sick of being bullied, not only by Cardin, but by others as well. He was sick of being ridiculed. He was sick of being the school's laughingstock. He was sick of dragging his friends down. He was sick of never doing anything good, and he was sick of being so clumsy and unskilled in everything.

Clumsiness, it would go away with time. He had hit a very late growth spurt, and his mother said he still had to get used to his new height, since up until fifteen he had been about five feet tall, and now he was over six feet. But that permanent lack of skill or talent? That wouldn't go away so easily.

Train in the gym? There were people. People not his friends usually ended up with him not being able to improve. His friends, he ended up feeling too bad about dragging them down to really train.

Study in the library? People weren't a problem there. No, the problem were the books. Beacon's books were too advanced for him. The school assumed that its students already knew the basics, so there wasn't much of his level. He found some Grimm bestiaries and books like that, but not much more.

Other places were similar, and as sure as hell he wasn't stupid enough to try and train in the Emerald Forest. He wouldn't last a day. So, he decided that he was done. He was done with being the clumsy, unskilled, lovable idiot his friends adored but kinda pitied and his classmates laughed at.

They had asked for it. He was going to bring out the big guns. No, the _huge_ guns.

He had a few things he was absolutely the best. He was good at dancing, sure, and he could cook fairly well, although not nearly as healthily as Ren. He had some other minor skills, and he was good at gaming, but those too weren't the case. Eh, if only he could've turn the world into a videogame. Then he wouldn't have been forced to this.

He stared at the syringe in his hand with steely determination. That was it. He would no more be the lovable laughingstock of the school. With a nod to himself, he stabbed the syringe into the side of his neck, winced, and injected the experimental Dust mix into his body.

The mix burned and itched even while within his body, and he immediately found himself hating the sensation, but it was working. He could feel it. The room began to grow higher and higher as he got closer and closer to the ground. His clothes weren't being affected by the Dust, so at the end, in the middle of the room stood just a bundle of clothes. His Beacon uniform.

Throwing the clothes aside, Jaune stood up and got dressed in the clothes he had appositely prepared. Yes, Jaune Arc had thought this through many times. He wore the clothes and then peered out of the bathroom's stall, checking if there was someone nearby. No one. Perfect.

Pushing his Beacon uniform into a backpack, he made his way to the full-wall mirror that towered near the door, and smiled.

About four feet tall, with nape-length, messy blond hair perfect for braiding, large blue eyes that just screamed of innocence and malice at the same time, and dressed in a mini version of the Beacon uniform, there stood a young boy no older than nine.

It was time Jaune Arc used his secret, and most powerful, weapon.

Cuteness.

No living being could withstand his cuteness when he was a child. As he got older, his cuteness got him laughed at, but when he was a kid, wide eyes and a trembling lip would get people to do _anything_. Even the Beowolves that had found him one day while he was wandering in the forest, had been awestruck by his cuteness. With age, he had lost his secret weapon, but that was before.

Before he had allowed Nora to break the timespace stream and create a Dust concoction that would permanently turn people into children. Ren had forbidden her from doing that ever again, and the poor victims were still being treated, but Jaune had watched carefully, and had remembered the preparation.

With a grin, he silently changed into his combat outfit -his _new_ combat outfit, a cute little white dress with skirt- and left the backpack tucked in a corner. His revenge would soon begin. The students were in class, and there would be no one in the halls. And if Ozpin saw him through the cameras… well, either the old man would be dumbstruck by his cuteness, or he would not have the heart to tell anyone. Either case, it was a win for Jaune. Now he only needed to get in the dining hall before everyone else… easy as breathing.

He reached the hall without problems. Just for added measure, he gave a camera the puppy eyes, and he was pretty sure he had heard a _thud_ coming from the Headmaster's tower. No matter. Getting into the dining hall was easy too, as there was literally no one. He quickly made his way to the table where Team CRDL usually ate, and then ducked under the table next to it. No one ever sat near Team CRDL, so no one would accidentally kick him from under the table.

Half an hour later, the students began to arrive. As expected, Team CRDL took their spots near his hiding spot. Just as expected, his team and his friends were very worried for him. _'I will make up for worrying you,'_ he told himself, noting how his thoughts too were slowly becoming more child-like. All the better. He didn't want to become a manipulative child with the mind of an adult. No, he only wanted to help people, not to use them with his cuteness. _'I'm sure they will love kid me more than teen me.'_

He waited until it was the right moment to strike. The dining hall was full of sounds, and everyone had finally relaxed from the tension they usually piled up in class. They were all chatting. No one was suspecting a thing. Especially not Team CRDL.

Moving silently, he sat beside a chair, in sight but going unnoticed, as if someone had pushed him and made him fall, and he hadn't bothered to stand up again. Then he practised the age-old teary eyes, and he was pleasantly surprised when the tears immediately came to him. He thought of every negative and sad thing he could think of. Too easy. Rivers of tears were ready to be cried in his eyes. He let them, feeling them run down his cheeks.

Finally, he wept loudly. Sobs rang out in the noisy hall, and somehow cut through every sound, every conversation, every thought. It took the record time of less than ten seconds for all noise to be gone and forgotten. Everyone was staring at him in shock and pure wonder. A child was crying. They didn't think it weird that a child was _in Beacon_ , because their mortal minds were all too busy to register two things.

That child was the cutest thing they had ever seen, and they would ever see.

And second, that child was crying.

The first thought filled everyone with awestruck wonder and warmth. The second, with white-hot, mindless murderous rage.

Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe it was fate, or it was karma, but Velvet Scarlatina was the first to reach the sobbing child, kneeling and wrapping him in a hug to try and calm him down. "Oh, don't cry, I'm here now. What happened?"

Jaune grinned in her shoulder. Sweet, sweet revenge would soon be served. Erasing his grin, he tearily looked up and pointed at Team CRDL, who froze like a deer caught in the path of a thermonuclear missile. "B-Bad m-m-men hurt m-me," he sobbed as if afraid of them. Which he kinda had been, once, when he was still seventeen. But as nine-year-old, he had a power no one could ever match.

He felt more than saw Team CRDL lose all colour. Not just their faces and skin, no, _their whole figures were paling_ , as if slowing being erased from reality itself. Hundreds of chairs scraped back as every single student in the entirety of Beacon, and the couple of Professors unfortunate enough to be caught in Jaune's cuteness range, stood up and glared at Team CRDL.

As the screams began, Jaune allowed Velvet's gentle rocking movements to lull him into sleep with a smile on his face.

 _ **I've had this Omake or oneshot sitting in my mind for quite some time now, but I wanted to write it either as a separate oneshot, or as an Extension Omake. The mood wouldn't fit any of my other multi-chapter stories, and I guess that says a lot about me and my stories. Although I did just murder Team CRDL, but that's beside the point.**_

 _ **I hope you enjoyed it! It's 1.6 k words, WAAAY longer than my usual Omakes, so I hope I haven't bored you! Hehe, this Omake is 2 OpenOffice A4 pages all by itself! ^^**_

 _ **Also, the next chapter has already been written, but I won't publish it straight away. Yeah, an offline Khor is a bored Khor, and a bored Khor is a Khor with lots of writing time.**_

 _ **Again, bye!**_


	16. Soulscapes and Missing Kitty

**_I did say that this chapter was already written, and I can't wait more than two days if I can. Demonic Redemption has been prepared as well, but the next update should be ViewingTES._**

"As you well know, or at least as the ones amongst you who have actually done their homework well know, the Faunus Rights Revolution wasn't the first attempt to establish equality for our fellow race." Oobleck's voice droned on and on, every word shot out like a bullet from a minigun, and hitting the students with just as much force. As opposite to Professor Port's class, all students were wide awake, but only because the man's voice was so loud that no one could sleep. "Why, our records are full of mentions of Faunus rebellions or armies, but alas history is written by the victors, and as such mankind hasn't kept those records anything more than mere mentions. Now, who amongst you students can mention one of those events?"

A couple of students raised their hands. Blake, Weiss and Pyrrha were among those few. Had Jaune been there, Ruby was sure he would've raised his hand too. He was too good at History of Remnant. Alas, Sky had convinced him to take Aura Class instead of History, so they didn't have that joint class any more.

Beside her, Blake was allowed to speak, "There are uncountable mentions to such events. The Faunuskind has been trying to free itself from mankind's oppression for centuries, unfortunately to no avail. All rebellions usually ended in Faunus blood being spilled, and the tyranny remaining." Ruby knew Blake had a thing for Faunus. It was the only explanation for why she was always so inflamed whenever the topic came up. She had chewed Sky's head off when he had naively made a racist joke lightheartedly. Needless to be said, the boy had never uttered a word against the Faunus again. "The Vacuan Purge, the Atlasian Inquisition, and many more horrifying actions have been taken against the Faunus for no other reason than race all thorough the history of Remnant. They are, quite literally, Remnant's scapegoat. Whenever something happened, everyone took it out on the Faunus."

Oobleck coughed into his fist and raised an eyebrow at her. "While I would usually welcome such input in my class, I fear I have two issues to address. First, you haven't actually answered my question, instead going on a tirade of your own. But most importantly, you seem extremely biased." He held up a hand to stop her from protesting. "It is true. Mankind has led many a genocidal action against the Faunuskind. However, we should not forget that Faunus are not exempt from flaws. Just look at the White Fang. True, mankind's actions have been horrible. However, the White Fang as it is now is just as horrible, if not more. They steal and murder anyone in their path, even fellow Faunus, hiding behind the excuse of their 'noble cause'. They are nothing more than glorified murderers. I am not condemning the Faunus as a whole, but just as well I am not condemning mankind as a whole. You cannot judge a race from the actions of a few."

"A _few?_ " Blake repeated, hissing slightly.

"Indeed, Ms Belladonna, a _few_. Allow me to tell you this: if mankind's majority had been racist to that level, the Faunus would have been wiped off Remnant _millennia_ ago. It is for the actions of a few, and the _inaction_ of most, that this has happened." Oobleck nonchalantly tapped his Scroll, and Blake felt her own vibrate. "I suggest you take a look at that file."

Frowning, Blake opened the Scroll and froze.

 _Blake Belladonna. Daughter of Kali Belladonna and Ghira Belladonna. Cat Faunus. Figuratively speaking, the princess of Menagerie. Do not think your identity is a secret to us Professors, lass. I will keep your secret, but do not think even for a second that you can hide behind that human facade you're holding up._

She raised her eyes to look at the Professor, and suddenly he felt way more dangerous than she had ever imagined. He knew her secret. She couldn't remain any more. Humans hated Faunus, and he was a human. Had he been a Faunus, it would've been different. A Faunus would've understood. A human? Never. They were oppressors.

Seeing her expression, he chuckled. "Why, I myself have fought alongside your parents, Ms Belladonna, during the Faunus Rights Revolutions. We were still children, of course. I quite well remember your father trying to hold your mother back from bashing my father in the head with a kitchen tray. She was quite the fierce girl back then. Is she still like that?"

A thousand thoughts swirled through her head, but Blake found out that embarrassment was the strongest. "Motherhood has mellowed her out a bit," she admitted quietly, trying to block out the snickers that were already ringing out in the class.

"Ah, yes. I've heard that is usually the case," nodded the man. Then taking pity of her, he prodded her to answer his initial question, "So, Ms Belladonna, can you tell us the name of one of those historical events no one ever remembers?"

"Well… there is the Mantle's Second Faunus Revolution," she offered meekly.

"Ms Belladonna, please, could you mention an event that, for once, does _not_ portray mankind as bloodthirsty abominations out for Faunus blood?" the Professor asked under his breath, knowing that she would catch that.

"Or… the Battle of the Two Souls," she quickly corrected her answer, remembering of a battle she had heard of in one of her books' end notes and had then looked up on Remnet.

It was the right answer. Oobleck's eyes lit up and shone as his smile widened to epic proportions. "Ah, yes yes yes! An incredible event worthy of being remembered in Remnant's history! Maybe the only battle to have ever been won without casualties on both sides!"

He zoomed to the map affixed to the wall and pointed with his teacher's wand to somewhere in Mistral. "The Battle of the Two Souls, or the Soulfight as some historians call it, took place in the western part of Mistral, near the village now known as Shion, more than a millennium ago. We have only vague records of that war, because it was over in just one day, with no deaths, and no injuries. People took their weapons to the battlefield, stood there for a while, and then went back home." He stopped long enough to smile to himself. "Before the war could begin, a man from the Faunus side strode forth and offered to fight one-on-one against the human side's commander in a winner takes all battle. The commander refused and ordered his men to fire on him, but his very soldiers refused his orders. If there was a way for them to solve that battle without casualties, all the better. The ones who tried to fire were stopped by their own comrades. On the Faunus side, some were against the idea as well, not willing to leave their fate in the hands of a human, but again they were silenced by their companions."

Oobleck slowly refilled his Thermos as he smiled, "The two warriors were Pierre Porto, yes students it was Professor Port's ancestor, and Robert Respierre, the human side's commander." He smiled when Blake goggled. "Yes, Professor Port's ancestor fought for the Faunus. Why, Peter himself was in the Faunus Rights Revolution. He is over ten years older than me, after all. I was a kid back then, but he was already a soldier."

"Anyway, the two fighters prepared themselves, but Pierre Porto refused to battle Respierre. He stated that he did not wish to draw blood, not even his enemy's. His ideals only endeared him further to the soldiers, and made Respierre call him a coward. However, Porto had the solution." Sipping his newly refilled coffee, Oobleck turned back to the students. "He offered to battle Respierre in their own Soulscape. Who amongst you know what a Soulscape is?"

No one raised their hand, although Ren tilted his head to the side.

"As expected. Soulscapes aren't normally studied by Hunters. Aura experts consider them basic to medium knowledge, but to Hunters it is an extremely advanced topic, in all its simplicity. Like we can all have a mindscape we take refuge in when we meditate on our Aura, Aura users can also take refuge in special mindscapes called Soulscapes. The main difference is that you have no conscious power over your Soulscape. It adapts to your soul, not to your mind's desires." The Professor chuckled at the students' surprised expressions. "Now, an incredibly complex Aura technique allows more than one Aura users to join their Soulscapes into one for a little while. And that is exactly what Pierre Porto offered to do."

"Arrogantly, Respierre accepted the challenge, but he had never fought in a Soulscape. And part of it had been shaped like Pierre Porto's soul: full of passion, but also full of fire. The dangerous terrain distracted Respierre during their fight, which Pierre Porto ended by beheading him. However, that was in their Soulscape. Once they were back to their real world, Respierre was only suffering from a harsh Aura exhaustion instead of, well, death." Oobleck smiled as he noticed that many students had questions ready. He loved when the students actually paid attention. "And thus Pierre Porto was declared the winner, although Respierre later took his revenge by murdering him in his sleep. He was taken and publicly hanged for his crimes, and to this day, in that area, Faunus have always been treated equally."

Cardin Winchester scoffed from his seat a few rows up. "That sounds like a fairy tale," he snorted obnoxiously.

"Mr Winchester, a fairy tale is a story told so many times it became unbelievable. This, is history." Oobleck sipped his coffee. "Also, if you do not remove your feet from your desk within the next three seconds, I will be forced to give you detention _and_ additional readings."

Grumbling, Cardin put his feet down.

"Too slow, Mr Winchester. Too slow. Now, do you have any question?"

/-/

"Students, please, do try and keep your Aura flow stable, or we will never get anywhere." Jaune nodded determinedly as Auntie Glyn's voice sounded in the room. "To enhance your body with your Aura, you must keep control of your Aura's flow, or-"

"Professor, but this is basic knowledge!" a random -and very stupid- student protested. "Everyone knows this! Why are we going over stuff we've been taught in our combat school's first or second year?"

Goodwitch stopped pacing around and looked at him. She didn't even feel the need to glare, she just stared at him as everyone in the room held their breaths. Seconds tickled by, but the scary Professor didn't even blink as her hard green eyes bored a hole in the student's skull. Said student began to sweat profusely, and his Aura flow trembled and stopped. Seconds became minutes, and the students ducked his head, accepting defeat, and returning to his Aura flow exercise. Finally, Goodwitch nodded, and the tension in the room vanished.

The few idiots who had really forgotten to breathe began to pant heavily, in dire need of oxygen.

"I was saying, to enhance your body with your Aura, you must keep control of your Aura's flow, or it will be erratic and unreliable. After you have your flow under control, we can move onto the enhancing part."

"Question!" Goodwitch turned to the girl who had spoken. "Is it possible to use Aura to enhance sexual performance?"

Silence met her words.

In the silence, Goodwitch clicked her tongue. "Why, of course it is. Aura can enhance any feature of your body. From size to pleasure to stamina to fertility, it can also enhance sexual performance." She allowed herself a giggle. "Although some studies have proven that using Aura to enhance sexual performance results in… consequences and collateral effects."

The girl froze with a smile already on her face.

"You see, Aura is a wonderful tool, but you must be careful. You must be _focused_ when you use it. That's why we teach you meditation. Now, while I'm sure there are people in the world who can enjoy wild Aura-enhanced sex without losing focus, I'm afraid those a few and fairly uncommon." She considered the matter for a second before continuing, "If you lose focus during the sexual act, it can result in all kinds of bad effects. You and your partner, or partners, could have your organs fused together. Or you could overenhance your performance and grow dependant to it, like a drug. Or your enhanced organs might just about explode from the pressure of your Aura. Or you might be stuck in a permanent state of near-orgasm… if you aren't into that, that's really nasty. Or… well, I'm sure you get the idea. I could go on, but your horror is no more amusing." Her voice turned icy cold. "Now, if there is no one else who has a stupid question to ask, I will go on with the real _lesson_."

No one replied, and she allowed herself a small smile. "Now, directing your Aura flow into specific parts of your body will-"

The bell chose that moment to ring out. Everyone scrambled to their feet. "SIT DOWN!" Until a voice boomed out, and they all fell back on the floor. "I WILL FINISH THAT SENTENCE!"

Glynda Goodwitch took a few calming breath to avoid scaring her already terrified students any further. "Directing your Aura flow into specific parts of your body will enhance it. The more Aura you send into it, the more powerful the enhancement will be. If you lose focus, don't overdo. Let go of your flow, and try again. Do not try to stabilize an irregular flow after you've lost focus. Remember the rule of the RRR: Remove the flow, Resend it, Revel the success." The woman smirked. "Now, you can go."

Slowly, the students stood up and gathered their things. Aura Class did not have desks, so everyone took notes from where they were seated on the floor. Jaune's notebook was full of writing. The others', instead, were basically empty, their blank pages telling him just how much he would need to study to catch up with them. Maybe he would never catch up. _'Oh well, it's not like this is a competition,'_ he told himself as he walked out in the corridor, heading for the next class, Combat Class.

"Oh, look, it's the loser!" Jaune sighed and tried to quietly ignore them, but as usual they didn't allow him to. Team CRDS, just out of History Class, had apparently decided to pay him a visit. How thoughtful of them. A couple other people watched as well, a guy and two girls, with clear amusement.

 _'And these are supposed to be the defenders of the weak. Really. Look more like the oppressors of the weak to me,'_ he mentally snarked.

"Hey loser, what's up today? For me, it's been shitty. It was good up until ten minutes ago, when the teach decided to ruin it with a detention. A detention I didn't deserve, too." Cardin Winchester stood squarely in his path, grinning at him. "So, little wimp, got anything to say before I break you?"

"Yes, and it's just four words," Jaune stated blandly, using the same four words he used whenever someone tried to bully him. "Yang and Goodwitch. Duh."

Rage mounted on Cardin's face, but instead of getting redder, he was losing colour. Finally, he stepped back, now pale, alongside all his team. "D-Damn you," he growled, the stammer betraying his fear of Jaune's protectors. "I-I will get-t back at you!"

Jaune waited until he was gone, and then continued to walk toward the Combat Arena. Really, people seemed to forget that he had _very_ powerful friends, and wasn't afraid of using them. Or at least, using their names. He would be a little ashamed if his friends literally had to bail him out of every situation, but threatening with their names was all fruit of his own cunning, so he chalked it up as a victory for himself. He got the bullies to buzz off without his friends rushing in to save him. The day seemed to be starting good, at least.

Later, when he reached Combat Class, his day got even brighter. For some reason, Pyrrha was called down to fight the entirety of Team CRDS, beating them into the dust without as much as losing a sliver of Aura to their hits. She was even still breathing evenly when she ended the match by slamming Cardin into the floor headfirst, something that really made his day.

Of course Glynda had found out that they had threatened him. His aunt was amazing like that.

However, as the next match began, Nora Valkyrie against some poor sod who didn't know that fate had just spat on his legs' life expectancy, he found his sleeve being pulled by Ruby. Turning away from the one-sided slaughter in the arena, he faced her with a smile that told everything about his good mood. "Yes Ruby?"

"Jaune, do you know what a Soulscape is?" she asked excitedly. He shook his head. "Professor Oobleck told us about it during History Class. It was about a war called The Soulfight or something. It wasn't in the program, it was an extra. And this war was solved by the use of this 'Soulscape'."

"Seems nice," commented the boy. "But what exactly is a Soulscape?"

"Oobleck explained that your Aura is like a house for your soul, adapting to it to host it to its best. The Soulscape is basically our soul's home! Every person's is different!" She was really excited about it, ignoring the futile pleas for mercy coming from the arena. "It's like a mindscape, but of the soul. I think that's the place you saw when you unlocked my Aura! It was my 'Soulscape'!"

Jaune blinked and thought back to a week or so prior. "There were lots of roses, and your mother's gravestone, but I couldn't see much because all around there were rose-covered hills. And there was a forest with a fountain in the middle. You were laying there when I woke you up."

"I saw you, and the forest, and I grabbed your hand," nodded Ruby. "Yes, but I mean… could you have unknowingly performed some super duper cool Aura technique that someone allowed you into _my_ Soulscape? Professor Oobleck said that Soulscapes can adapt to two different souls, but that it has never been recorded of a Soulscape adapted to a single soul, but hosting two."

"Ruby." She looked at him. "I have no idea. I literally have no idea whatsoever. Heck, I am barely starting to learn how to enhance my body with Aura, how am I supposed to know about how I sneak into a Soulscape?"

Ruby slumped. "I just… I hoped you would have the answer… it's been bugging me ever since History Class…"

"I believe that has been a result of Jaune's Semblance and your 'Link', as Ms Goodwitch called it in your Beacon Database profile," Weiss cut in from the row above them. "You two share a spiritual bond, and Semblances are almost always unique. It is entirely possible for you to be able to do things no one has ever been able to do. After all, Jaune, your Semblance has already been surprising us. You resurrected your ancestor, then Ruby, exchanged an eye and some locks of hair with her, you can use each other's Aura at high stress levels, and apparently you have an empathic link. The first two points of this list have probably never been recorded on their own, while Aura sharing and mental links are rare, but not unheard of."

"So, what you're trying to say is…" Jaune urged her to finish.

Pyrrha did so in her stead. "She means that your unique Aura unlocking process could've been yet another aspect of your Semblance that you have not examined yet."

Pyrrha was still kind of a mystery to Jaune. From what Yang, Blake and Sky had told him, the girl rarely spoke at all when not urged to or spoken to, and she never gave orders as team leader, not even as jokes. She never got involved in their conversations when she could stay out of it, and overall was the most introverted person the three had ever met aside from Blake.

However, after the formation of Team PWVR, she had really begun to warm up and talk a lot more, apparently thanks to Weiss. Nora wasn't a reliable source of information, after all. She had told Jaune and his team that Pyrrha had always had problems with handling her fame, and how it made people act around her, but that having Weiss -someone who was used to such things- in her team had really made her ease up. Ironic, since Weiss was still the coldest of the group. Through Weiss, Pyrrha had begun to talk with Ren, probably the only person who could speak as little as she did. Weiss hadn't been needed for Nora: the hyperactive bomber could've befriended a wall. Thrown in the middle of her team, Pyrrha had apparently managed to loosen up a bit.

She still kicked everyone's asses in Combat Class, though.

"That's cool, though I'm beginning to think there is some sort of very serious drawback to this Semblance," grinned Jaune while Goodwitch finally took pity of the student in the arena and called the match, "because really, it's too powerful. It's baffling."

"Jaune, my Semblance is Ferrokinesis," explained Pyrrha. "I can move and manipulate anything that contains iron, including alloys like steel or Dust-alloyed steel. It literally makes my opponents powerless against me if I wish so, unless the ones who do not use any kind of iron or iron-alloy weapon, which are _extremely_ few."

"I don't!" exclaimed Ruby. "Crescent Rose is a magnesium alloy!"

"Alloyed with what, Ruby?" Pyrrha asked. "And no, I can apparently move any kind of metal, but for the longest time I thought I could only move iron. That's why I named it Ferrokinesis, and even when I found out I could manipulate any metal, the name stuck." She giggled. "For the first months, I thought my Semblance was Polarity. I thought I could use magnetic fields to move metals. Then I realized that I did not use magnetism, I literally moved and manipulated the metal, and so the name was lost."

"While _my_ Semblance allows me to create two types of Glyphs: platforms and propellers. The black Glyphs are propellers. The white ones are platforms. Those are the two basic Glyphs of my Semblance," explained Weiss, looking as proud as the Beacon statue. "Then, if I add Dust, I can make more or less whatever I wish. Ice manipulation, fire, increased gravity, time manipulation, speed Glyphs…" She trailed off as they all stared at her. Clearing her throat, she smiled. "The Schnee family Semblance has been recorded as Remnant's most powerful Semblance, yes. A fully earned title, I can assure you."

"Resurrection with benefits, metal manipulation, strongest Semblance on Remnant…" Ruby slumped. "I feel cheated…"

/-/

Blake Belladonna was a girl with a mission. Said mission was to silently sneak out of her dorm, without waking up the four other people sleeping in it. Easy task. They were all absurdly deep sleepers. Then she silently exited the dorm, and crept down the corridor. Avoiding the hallways, she quickly reached the entrance hall. No one was there, and the giant door was closed. No matter, she darted to a window, opened it, and crawled out of the school.

Half of her mission had been done. Blake Belladonna was in the school no longer. She swiftly ran across the courtyard and toward the docks. She reached them without problems. She only had one more thing to do. She would stealthily take a Bullhead and flee to Vale. There, Professor Oobleck wouldn't be able to find her. Now that he knew of her identity, it was only a matter of time before he slipped and hinted at it with the students. She knew he wouldn't do it on purpose, but he was still a mortal being: he made mistakes. If all the faculty knew, then soon she would be found out, and thus betrayed. Maybe hanged, or burned at stake.

She looked around, and promptly groaned.

Of course there were no Bullheads going to Vale in the middle of the night. What had she been thinking? No matter, she had stolen an airship before. It wasn't a Bullhead, but she was Blake Belladonna, former White Fang lieutenant and one of their best members. She could handle a Bullhead.

She jumped when someone cleared their throat behind her. Whipping around, she was met with the sight of a very amused Headmaster staring back at her. Her hand never leaving Gambol Shroud's hilt -an action that seemed to greatly amuse him- she slowly stepped back. "What do you want?" she asked, quite brusquely.

"I merely wish to inform you that our Bullheads are not that easy to steal. We have an access code and authentication process. Stealing one would just wake up the whole Academy, and put yourself in serious trouble." The Headmaster strode past her and toward one of the powered-down flying monsters. "If you wish to reach Vale, I will gladly fly you there. I am authorized, and I have a proper flying license, as opposite to you. However, there is something I must ask from you in return."

Blake nodded, preparing herself for the worst. He would ask for information about the White Fang, but she would never tell him. If she did, he would use that information to find them, and the Hunters would slaughter them. Blake didn't want that. The White Fang had to be reformed, not destroyed. They were misguided Faunus, not murderers.

Or maybe he would ask her to remain in Beacon. That would be even worse. Or he would ask her to send a message to her team to inform them of where she was. Again, something she really didn't want to do.

Or maybe he wanted something more… risqué. She blushed. Nudes? Was that what he wanted? Or some kind of sick show? Or even worse, actual sex? Her books were very extensive on the matter. They covered just about anything he could ask her, from top secret world-saving missions to steamy acts in the Bullhead's pilot cabin.

Instead, the Headmaster's words were quite different. "If you accept a lift, I want you to stop considering yourself the only intelligent being in the entire world."

"What?" she said, outraged.

"I would ask you to stop considering yourself the only person with a brain on Remnant. You are not the only one who knows what is right and what is wrong, and you do not know everything about people. You cannot assume they will act like you think -or rather, you fear- they would act." The man looked at her from above his glasses. "Even now, you are assuming you are in the right, and everyone else is in the wrong. I just ask you to start thinking that other people are capable of mental process just as much as you are."

And with that, he started the engine.

 ** _Let's face it: canon Blake is a hypocrite moron who thinks to be the only intelligent being on Remnant. She, at 17, thinks to be the only one to be trying to do something against the White Fang. She hatchs a plan with her team that ends with them bringing a giant robot controlled by a ruthless criminal where?! IN A FUCKING HIGHLY TRAFFICKED HIGHWAY! Where, of course, they jump on cars, so Roman literally sends those cars flying. I wonder how many of those drivers have made it out of there alive. Plus I'm sure they have damaged the supports of the highway (at least one was destroyed by Roman punching Yang through it), that means making the highway fucking COLLAPSE! All those deaths, and why? Because a damn group of teenagers thought they could do more than professional Hunters and policemen? All those people's lives were lost because of their arrogance, but Blake was the one to bring her team to do it. Her team was happy as it was, with having stopped Roman at the docks. But nooo, she goes and is moody because she didn't save the world, so then they hatch a stupid plan that worked for a MIRACLE or two, and when they fuck it up no one even tells them off for having caused the death of so many civilians._**

 ** _Also, Blake calls the White Fang misguided. She herself left the organization because it had turned murderous. Well girl, misguided and murderer can go well together, you know? The Faunus of the Fang are both misguided, and murderous criminals. But no, they are misguided. If a human then mistreats a Faunus, it's pure evil and she's furious. Uuuuh... 2 + 2 = 22, Blake? How does your brain work? Did you hit your head too hard when you were little?_**

 ** _Do not get me wrong, I like her character. I do, and I love to write her in my more serious stories._**

 ** _But there are these scenes in canon that just ruin both her and RWBY as a whole. Like when she's revealed to be the f*** Princess of Menagerie. She left to join the Fang just because she, at what was probably 13, thought she could change the world. Sorry, in my world there are no monsters of darkness, but I was way less naive than that at 13. I stopped believing I could change the world when I was 5, folks. Her parents loved her and she ran away, calling them cowards, because of what? Because they refused to become terrorists who stole and hijacked cargos? Because they refused to make the Faunus's reputation even worse by joining a criminal organization? Genius girl._**

 ** _The point is, Blake could've been a marvelous neutral/bad character. In my A Darker Shade of Gold, Roman is among the 'heroes' yet he's still a bad guy who has no morals and would kill people just to keep his 'style'. So yeah, you don't need the goody-two-shoes to have a hero. Blake would've been a nice anti-hero. But no, RT had to make her the good good girl. And that was just ruined by those scenes._**

 ** _Heroes aren't just the good guys. Bad guys can go against other bad guys if they have something to gain._**

 ** _But since this story is humour and not serious like DarkerShade or Demonic Redemption (I'll call it Redemption from now on), I'm making this stupidly funny instead of demolishing it with logic and coherency. But anyway, let's move on. I placed the Faunus Rights Revolution about 50 years before the start of canon, so the main character's parents were already teens when it happened. And I took Kali's tray scene from V5 and added it here as well, hehe. Kali Belladonna, Master Wielder of Kitchen Trays._**

 ** _Also, Soulscapes, yay!_**

 ** _No romance in this chapter, though._**

 ** _And finally, the part with Jaune's 'bullies'. In canon, his friends are literally the strongest first years, and probably among the strongest students in all of Beacon. So, who is stupid enough to bully Jaune? True, he can't fight back, but ALL his friends can kick the bully's ass from Remnant to the shattered Moon if they hear about that!_**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	17. Damage Control

**_This chapter is filler. Fun filler, comedy filler, maybe even some parody filler, but eventually this is just setting things up for the next._**

 ** _Now, in DarkerShade I went on a rant for V6, in the AN of Ch 16. If you're interested in a serious-Khor rant, go read it. No need to read the chapter itself if you're not at Ch16 yet. Point is, I'm not repeating all that, plus this story is not serious enough for that._**

 ** _Instead, let's focus on the fun parts of V6! For example, we have an Atlas-made Goldrake for us writers to use! Though I like Daisuke way more than Cordovin, duh. Oh, right, Goldrake is the name the super robot Grendizer has in Italy, sorry for not explaining. So now we have this super robot to play with. Not just that, I was always in doubt whether to have Atlas create super-robots like that, but canon has removed my doubts. Now I'm sure that, even if I introduce Mazinger in a fanfiction, it'll be seen as following canon, right?_**

 ** _Oh also, now having the SDC logo fire-branded on your face is very fashionable. Wait, you say it's a scar from a horrible past? What? Why? Blake and Yang didn't even blink at seeing it, so it must be some weird Faunus fashion. So from now on, Faunus characters have access to this wonderful tattoo they can get at the cheap price of an eye. Also, the eye gets quite cool too, so that's a plus. Canon just proved that SDC brands are fashionable._**

 ** _Also, Farm Boy just came up with a plan to destroy one of the most technologically advanced things to have ever been created. Wow, did he really work in a farm, or did he skip out on his chores to study and become an Atlas scientist?_**

 ** _Poor Jaune, he's back to being useless. Meh, I guess we are all used to that, right? It's six volumes the show portrays him as useless and stupid no matter how much he grows and improves, even after six volumes he must still be the laughingstock. Here, Jaune, take a candy to cheer yourself up. Whoops, he choked on it, well nothing new, canon did show that he can get nothing right. My bad, I should've expected it. After all, we know that secretly, Jaune's Semblance is "The Writers Hate Me, So Everything I Do Is Wrong, I Always Look Like An Idiot, And Most Bad/Embarrassing Things Happen Only To Me". An incredible Semblance, isn't it?_**

 ** _Oh, right, the Leviathan, or should I say Grimmzilla? Leviathan and Sphinxes. News for all fanfiction writers: now naming a Grimm after a mythological creature does not force you to actually follow that myth. I'm quite sure Sphinxes are not like that. Plus Leviathan is a serpent-like creature, huge and all, and cannot breathe fire. If you need a name, call it Kaiju or something._**

 ** _But good news, the Apathies! Grimm can apparently influence the mind too, so having illusion-power Grimm, or mind-power Grimm is now allowed! Grimm are no more just beasts that fight and kill or die, they have Semblances like humans! Apathies can remove energies and basically have a stronger version of Ren's Semblance! Folks, let's all go and become Grimm, it gives us extra strength and endurance, plus we get better powers than we would get if we were to be humans or Faunus! Just be sure to keep away from grey-eyed people, and not to face teams of teenagers on your own or at all, and you can rule the world! Or, well, the parts where there aren't grey-eyed people or teams of teenagers, of course._**

 ** _All in all, I think V6 sucked, but it offered a great amount of lore that is very useful to us writers._**

 ** _Not just that, Ozpin and Salem's backstory. Now we know that, if you live in Remnant, being atheist is the best choice, because those two gods were just dicks. Now we see that Salem is actually in the right? What next? Flying monkeys?_**

 ** _Wait... in the post-credit scene, Salem DOES create winged Beringels, so we DO have flying monkeys..._**

 ** _No Sun, you cannot fly yet. Go and become a Grimm first. Sorry._**

 ** _This AN is getting too long, plus I have to cook dinner now. Here is the chapter._**

 ** _EDIT: I'm back from dinner, and I really want to address a review from a guest. Normally, I wouldn't do this, but they did bring up a valid point I'm sure others have thought but have never asked._**

 ** _Why am I so obsessed with Jaune?_**

 ** _Well, because his character ruins the whole show. By comparing his character's details (and here I'm talking about the notes RT has about Jaune, not about the character himself, mind me) to events or lore of the show, we clearly see that there are contradictions. I won't list them, but that's why I'm so obsessed with Jaune. How RT handled this character has ruined the show because it clearly shows how they have no idea what the different between a Main Character, Secondary Character, Side Character and Background Character is. And let me tell you, there IS a difference. I may not be a certified nor professional writer, but I do know how to write. My family is basically made up of writers, after all._**

 ** _So, I'm obsessed with Jaune because, ironically by being the worst character, this character is ruining the show._**

 ** _Don't get me wrong, I still like both the character and the show, but my favourite main character is not Jaune. And I liked RWBY's first volumes despite them having Jaune as laughingstock and target of ridicule. So, I'm not writing this because I love Jaune to death and I want to protect him from everything. It's because he is among the biggest causes of RWBY's illogicalness and uncoherency. In a way, heh, I'm like this because I hate canon Jaune. There is no way to write a Jaune, following canon, without adding tons of more lore to RWBY._**

 ** _One of the main things: his family cared for him and all, yet they allowed him to go to a school only for the best of the best. His big sister Saphron is a Huntress, so she should know how dangerous that is. Yet they allowed him to go, without Aura nor training. That is not the behaviour of a caring family. Contradiction, it shows RT did not plan the background of this character._**

 ** _Now, that's fine. I'm sure they haven't planned the background of the shopkeeper in Ep1 V1. However, if you start showing background of a secondary character (Jaune is a secondary character like all of Team JNPR), you should note it down and keep it coherent. Now, unless they add a ton of more lore, there is no way to make sense of Jaune's past. If they do add a ton of lore, there was no way I, WE, could've known that._**

 ** _The show is not named JAUNE, I know. It is not named TEAM RWBY, either, it is named RWBY. 'Team RWBY' is not the main character. There is no ONE main character, but FOUR main characters, and each of them has a cast of Secondary and Side Characters. If someone of you wants to know the difference, they are welcome to ask me. Otherwise, take my word for it. So no, Jaune is not main character. People believe that Team RWBY is, but that's not it. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang are FOUR different main characters, and as such each of them should be treated as one, not ALL of them together. It's not Team RWBY does this and that, it's Ruby does this and that, Weiss does this and that, Blake does t [blah blah blah]. Most of the time, 'this and that' are the same for all four._**

 ** _Anyway, so yeah, the show is not named JAUNE. If it was, I'd probably stop watching it because it'd make no sense. If he were to, and I'm quoting word by word, 'get some pussy and beats some bad guys', again I'd probably quit. I want coherency, not grandious characters. I want to watch something I don't have to kill my neurons on to understand what the hell is going on, because I watch RWBY as entertainment, not as work. Then why don't I quit? Because I love writing, and RWBY offers me so many chances to write different stories._**

 ** _So, to answer your guest review in just a paragraph instead of nine, this is it: I know. And the reason why most of my stories have Jaune as protagonist, is because he is the one who needs the most corrections, so I'm offering the fandom stories with coherent Jaunes. In many stories where Jaune is a secondary or side character, the authors just keep canon Jaune and never improve its coherency. Honestly, I'd love to write a story with Ruby, Blake or Weiss as PoV. So yeah, that's it._**

Ozpin sighed to himself as he sipped his coffee in his office, silently counting down from ten. He had worked there long enough to predict almost anything. For example the consequences of his actions.

 _'Ten, nine, eight,'_

The sun had barely gone up, but the Headmaster was already relying on coffee to keep himself awake. Ms Belladonna had been more than adamant about her opinion and how she thought the world worked, and he really admired her faith to her cause… too bad she was completely wrong. Blake Belladonna thought she was the centre of the entire universe, and thus everything was her responsibility.

 _'Seven, six, five,'_

Ms Belladonna also seemed to firmly believe everyone to be willing to turn against her just because of two small cat ears on top of her head. How amusing, in Ozpin's humble opinion. She trusted her friends so much that she thought a couple of ears could erase weeks of friendship. And added to that she had doubted poor Barty's loyalty.

 _'Four, three, two, one,'_

She also seemed to believe that a single teenager of the age of seventeen could do more than dozens of Hunters before her. Oobleck himself would gladly fight the White Fang, if he were given the chance to do so without creating problems. However, Ms Belladonna seemed to think that if she shouted loud enough at the White Fang, they'd all turn into innocent puppies who would follow her and prove the big bad humans wrong. Ozpin was particularly amused by that. She herself had left the organization, she should've known how it was. The White Fang might've begun as a peaceful organization, but the Faunus who now fought under its banner would never give up their violent ways, especially not just because a girl was telling them to.

Ozpin sometimes wondered who was more naive, if Ms Rose, or Ms Belladonna.

 _'Zero.'_

"Ozpin!" The elevator's doors dinged as they opened to reveal a quite angry Glynda Goodwitch. Ozpin sipped his coffee. Right on time, as usual when something happened. Every time he did something she disagreed with, it was the same story. She woke up at seven o'clock, had breakfast and got ready for the day, and at a quarter part seven she read his reports. She'd take six minutes and seventeen seconds to reach the elevator which, having been left by him up, would take two minutes eight seconds to arrive. She'd then take another two minutes sixteen seconds to reach the top, and thus him.

Ozpin had figured her out. "Yes, Glynda?"

"Would you mind explaining why a Bullhead has been authorized by yourself to fly one Blake Belladonna to Vale, without prior warning, tonight at one in the morning?" asked the stern professor, reaching his desk in five long steps. "And why said Blake Belladonna has already been marked as _'Missing'_ in her BDSM's profile, without even waiting for the standard forty-eight hours to have passed?"

"I just thought to do it myself instead of forcing you to update it. Aren't you glad I took some work off your shoulders?" Her glare told him quite clearly that he wasn't going to be allowed to skirt around the topic any longer. Two sentences, that's how much she had allowed him to pretend. The students considered her stern, but she was even sterner with the faculty. "Ms Goodwitch, forcing her to remain here would've only done harm. She would've believed us in the wrong and she wouldn't have learned. She has to learn the hard way."

Goodwitch pinched the bridge of her nose. "And thus you allowed a student with an unhealthy obsession with a terrorist organization, who thinks she can _talk them out of murder_ , to actually look for trouble?"

Ozpin shrugged slightly. "Glynda, we train them to be warriors. I'm all for the softer methods when they work, but sometimes they just don't learn unless the lesson is shot at them at point-blank."

"This isn't letting her learn a lesson, Ozpin, this is allowing her to get herself killed!" exclaimed the woman.

"It was the only way to solve that! She was already trying to hijack one of our Bullheads when I got there, and she actually believed she could fight me off and escape if I were to try and stop her." The new info stopped her rage and made her sigh in disappointment. "We must look at this with perspective. She was born and grown in Menagerie, and despite her parents being exceptional people, other Faunus there hate humans and they would warn young Faunus to never trust humans. Then, when she left the island, she did so to join a terrorist organization whose view of mankind was only slightly better than their view of the Grimm. She stayed with them until recently, when she then decided against living among civilians and instead applying for Beacon. To do so, she chose to hide her heritage for the obvious reasons to have been grown among people who did not hold any kind of fondness toward humans, and later among people who straight-out hated mankind. I can see why she would behave like that."

"You do? Explain it to me, then, because I don't." Goodwitch shut her eyes to reign in her anger. "And this is your explanation as of why you are allowing a student to walk to her own death?"

"Ms Goodwitch, all her life Ms Belladonna did not trust humans. It is obvious she wouldn't trust them with her secret now. But such radical lessons cannot be learned in a normal classroom, only out there." Ozpin rubbed his forehead. "She will have to live in Vale, and as such, live among non-racist humans. She has no way of finding out where the White Fang will be, so the odds of her actually running into them are pretty thin. Plus… I'm sure her team will search for her."

"They aren't awake yet. When they will wake up -probably ten or so minutes before classes start-, they will probably start to panic. Are you seriously saying we should just ignore that and pretend we don't know where she is?" Ozpin shrugged, and Goodwitch brought out her ace. "Sir, our only two Silver Eyed Warriors are on that team. If they search for her without knowing where she is, they might get in trouble…"

Ozpin paused mid-sip. Slowly, he lowered the mug. "You… make a good point. As much as Ms Belladonna needs to learn this lesson, we cannot allow Ms Rose and Mr Arc Rose Xiao Long to be killed while searching for her in more dangerous places… that'd be not only a tragedy for the loss of two young lives, but it might very well be a tragedy also because we literally have no knowledge of other Silver Eyed Warriors in the entire world."

"So, what do you suggest?" Glynda smirked smugly as her trick did its job.

Sipping his calming drug once more, Ozpin turned to look at the window. In almost two hours the two Silver Eyed would awaken, and scream about how they were late for class. They would forego showers and breakfast and they would rush to class. Halfway to it, they would finally register the absence of their black-haired teammate, and they would go back to search for her. And once they did not find her, they would rush to class to see whether she'd be there. All day long they'd search for her, until Ms Schnee or Ms Nikos reminded them to look on the Database's GPS location. Then they would see her status as 'Missing', and they would absolutely panic.

He sighed. No, that wouldn't do. He'd have to do something. "We can try and salvage this as best as we can," he said, turning to face his deputy. "If we, for example, leave some documents casually containing Ms Belladonna's departure tonight and allow them to find it, they will probably go to search for her in Vale. At the same time, we should allow Ms Belladonna to be found. If she is not obsessing over the White Fang, she'll be impossible to find… especially given the rest of her team's lack of stealth skills. So we must find a way to give them a situation and make them meet up while Ms Belladonna is too busy to run."

Ozpin lit up. "Of course. The White Fang is very probably going to at least try and steal the SDC shipment arriving in town, if they really are behind all these robberies. The Council discussed about it last meeting, and I _am_ in the Council. If we manage to let Ms Belladonna know about this, she will be there to try and 'stop' them, aka scold them. At the same time, if we manage to have Team JRBYL -I know you called it Arboreal, I call it Gerbil- go to that same location, they will catch Ms Belladonna. Best case scenario, the White Fang shows up, Ms Belladonna is too busy 'fighting' them to run, and their team is back together. Even better if they help her. I'm worried she might drag her team along with her obsession, but that issue will be tackled later on."

Goodwitch smiled, "It's good to have you back, Professor. Your mind's as sharp as always."

"You flatter me, Glynda." Inwardly, the man smirked. _'Of course I am, all thanks to a little of calming drug added every day to my coffee. You should try it too, Glynda, helps dealing with Salem but most of all, a school full of irresponsible children with superpowers.'_

/-/

 _Professor Goodwitch,_

 _as I'm sure you already know, Blake Belladonna has left Beacon tonight at 1:20:34 AM, heading to Vale. I am sure she won't come back unless she learns her lesson, and I think her team should really go and find her. Turns out she's a Faunus who was hiding her cat ears with a little bow. Main problem, she's obsessed with the White Fang, and she does not trust humans – thus, her team._

 _She will_ _ **most certainly**_ _be at the docks in two days. A large SDC Dust shipment is arriving and with all the ongoing Dust robberies being blamed on the WF, I am sure she'll be there. That would be the_ _ **ideal moment and location**_ _for her team to meet with her. If the White Fang is really behind those robberies, then fighting alongside her team might mend the bridges she cut so brashly._

 _Please, this is top secret information,_ _ **do not allow Team JRBYL to read this note**_ _, and do not mention Ms Belladonna's absence to them during class. Also, please come to my office immediately. Sure, if Team JRBYL finds this note and reads it, this will be the perfect moment for them to slip away unnoticed, but I am sure this won't be the case._

 _On a side note, I decided to let the students have a day off in two days. I know this seems purposeful but I am_ _ **not**_ _doing this just to allow Team JRBYL to get away from class in time to reach Ms Belladonna at the docks._

 _Please do not leave this note lying around as it is of extreme importance, and do not speak of this with the rest of the faculty._

 _Professor Ozpin_

"Let's put it back and run, we'll discuss it when we're safely back in our dorm."

/-/

Blake Belladonna blinked as the blond monkey Faunus, who had been following her ever since she had saved him from the cops, continued to speak.

"Yeah, I know everything about the SDC shipment! A man with silver hair and a cane personally sought me out to tell me! He said he saw me hanging out with you, and since you were a student of Beacon you wouldn't be friends with criminals, so he could trust me. And then he gave me the exact time and place where it'll happen, heck I even have the pass to enter the docks themselves without sneaking in!"

"Well, at least I got some good luck, eventually," Blake smiled slightly. "Though I do wonder who that man was… but I shouldn't really think about that. Silver hair is a sign of old age, and old age often forces people to use canes. He was probably just a rambling old man who was spouting stuff he had somehow learned. Let's get ready, though, it's better to come prepared."

/-/

"Okay, we all know we're not going to let Blake take on the White Fang all of her own, now we have to decide how we do this," stated Yang, sitting cross-legged on the floor of her dorm. "It is clear the professor do not want to let us go after her, so we'll have to sneak out of Beacon."

Jaune raised a hand. "I'm a master at distracting my aunt, she won't be a problem. The only other who knows is apparently Ozpin, and he is locked in his tower all day long. We will only have to go unnoticed by the others, though I'm sure if they don't know they won't be suspicious of us heading to Vale."

"Should we ask Team PWVR?" asked Ruby.

"Better not to. Apparently Blake is a Faunus, and we all know just how horribly the SDC treats Faunus," Sky replied seriously. He had rarely interacted with the Ice Queen of their group, but still he knew enough about her last name to spot a stupid idea when he saw one. "Pyrrha would also kind of be recognized. Maybe having some White Fang members dropping their weapons to get her autograph would be nice, but eventually not worth it."

"Also, Ren comes with Nora, and Nora is… Nora." Sky winced as he added that last part. "I lived a few days with Nora, and she isn't really… stealthy."

Thoughts of massive pink explosions filled their minds. "Definitely not someone to be allowed near huge amounts of Dust," agreed Yang, sweating a little at the idea of the hyperactive bomber blowing up an entire SDC shipment. Vale would probably be levelled by the explosion. "Any other idea?"

"I don't think so, we don't really know anyone else in the school," mumbled Ruby before lighting up. "We can ask Dad to back us up! He'd drop everything to help us out of a dangerous fight!"

"Good thinking Rubes!" cheered Yang, adding 'Dad' on the list of people to get the help of. "Now, anyone else has a good idea?"

Silence met her words.

"My parents aren't Hunters," stated Sky.

"Mine neither," added Jaune.

"And we just added our dad," Ruby finished.

"And we can't tell anyone else because they would probably call this vigilantism, that is against the law last I checked," Sky was the one to deal the final blow to their mood.

"But then, what _can_ we do?" groaned Ruby, slumping on the floor. "It's like teenagers like us aren't supposed to save the day!"

"That's the truth, actually," noted Sky, taking out his Scroll and finding the law he was looking for. "More or less, this law says that students of a combat academy, be it major like Beacon and Shade or minor like Signal and Sanctum, are not allowed to commit vigilantism just because they feel like they can help. It is very specific."

"What does it say about civilian vigilantism?" Jaune asked. "Maybe if we leave our weapons behind we can pass off as civilians with Aura. We can take the weapons of the White Fang we beat if they do show up."

"Nope, civilians can't be vigilantes either. Forbidden." Sky closed his Scroll. "I think our only way is to act subtle and not be identified. Come on guys, let's do this."

"But we're not exactly good at _subtle_ ," Yang pointed out, gestured to the whole group. "I mean, seriously? I've never been stealthy a day of my life, and Ruby can be stealthy only when cookies or strawberries are involved. I believe Jaune can be manipulative when trying to have his aunt do something for him, but definitely not stealthy. Again, unless it involves something like food or comics. And you Sky… you wear _armour_ , for Dust's sake."

Sky looked down at his combat outfit and offered a sheepish smile. "Well, in my defence, it does come in handy when you're not trying to sneak around. But still, you all have combat boots, those make noise too."

"Okay, so we are a very noisy group, but what do we do?" Ruby panicked, gesturing wildly with her arms. "We can't just go in there and wait for them to make the first move!"

"Well, why not?"

Everyone jumped as professor Ozpin himself spoke from their doorway. He smiled at them from behind his coffee mug. "Students, please remember to lock your door before you start talking about important topics."

Yang was the first to recover, if by recover one meant blushing in embarrassment and stammering denials. "H-Heya professor! I-I don't k-know what you're t-talking about, we were d-discussing the… the… t-the weather!" Everyone nodded in agreement, sticking to the made-up lie.

Ozpin chuckled. "Students, I thought you had noticed how the note was clearly meant to be picked up by you. I even highlighted the important words." He seemed to take great amusement from their shocked looks. "Contrary to what you students may think, I am not an idiot. Not _that_ much of an idiot, at least. If that note had really been so important, I would've spoken about in privately with Professor Goodwitch, in my office, far from curious ears. It was not a coincidence."

"Wait, what?" Jaune asked the question everyone was thinking.

"I personally escorted Ms Belladonna to Vale tonight, and I personally decided how to handle this situation." Raising a hand to stop any protest, he continued, "I will allow you to search for her, on _my_ terms. I'm afraid I cannot allow my students to get themselves killed needlessly. Any question before I start?"

"Yes, what the hell just happened?" asked Yang.

"Simple, Ms Xiao Long. Ms Belladonna found it fitting to flee from you because she believed, wrongly if I may add, that you would discriminate her for her Faunus heritage. Please, I know you wouldn't, I am just describing her train of thoughts." Ozpin chuckled as Jaune and Ruby shut up but forgot to close their mouths. Yang closed them for the duo. "Stopping her would've just worsened the problem. However, letting her go like this would've probably led to her death. I just decided to teach her a lesson of the sort not found in class. A lesson of trust. And that's where you come in."

"Didn't you say she doesn't trust us?" asked Ruby, worried.

 _'If Mr Lark now asks something, they'll have made a full loop of questions. Bet ten Lien he will,'_ mused the man. Often, Ozpin's thoughts were not as wise and advanced as most people believed, all thanks to his skill in meditation. Worrying about Salem all the time would've just brought him to snap or break in a few days. He took a sip of coffee. That helped too. "Ms Rose, of course she doesn't. That's why you must teach this lesson. You will show her that you care even after you see her Faunus traits, and you will help her fight the White Fang. Professor Goodwitch, one of my most loyal Hunters, and myself will be nearby in case things go awry. We will not help you stop the White Fang, however, unless you students are at risk of being killed. Am I clear?"

"No," Sky blurted out. "Why are you doing this?"

 _'Totally called it,'_ thought Ozpin, silently slipping ten Lien from the school fund to his own wallet. "Mr Lark, I am merely looking our for my students. One of them went missing, and I have to find a way to cure her mistrust toward humans. You would be the best start."

"Because we are her team?" Ruby asked naively.

"Because you are all minor criminals yourselves," countered the man, making them all freeze. He chuckled. "Yang Xiao Long, damage property for thousands of Lien, provoked and unprovoked assault to trained civilians. Jaune Arc Rose Xiao Long, forgery and I do believe a fair bit of corruption of my deputy. Ruby Rose, vigilantism when you fought Roman Torchwick and… well, died… and your uncle Qrow, who works for me, has told me you steal Lien from your father's wallet to go buy yourself cookies, strawberries, comics, weapon parts, and weapon magazines. Sky Lark, vandalism during your early teens, when you drew graffiti on your school's walls… I must praise your artistic talent, though… as well as a short period of bullying while you were training to be a Hunter, three years ago." As the Headmaster listed off their crimes, they paled and paled. When he was done, all of them could've dyed their hair white, and be mistaken for Schnees. "I want to allow Ms Belladonna to tell you everything, but she too doesn't have the cleanest of records. So, I thought that by sharing your secrets, you five could bond on your past crimes and strive to become better than what you were."

And with that, he left the room, leave the four lawbreakers to stew in their shame. Or so he thought.

"You are criminals too?" Yang asked excited as soon as he was out of earshot. "That's so cool! We are all bad girls and boys! That's so badass!"

"Now I get why you just accepted my forgery," laughed Jaune, "you all had broken the law too!"

"Oh come on, I can't be called a criminal just because I tried to stop a poor shopkeeper from being robbed, and because like all children I use my parents' money to buy stuff!" huffed Ruby, pouting at the injustice.

"Vigilantism is forbidden because it creates chaos, and chaos is harder to handle than crime for the Council," sighed Sky. "Also, _I_ never stole my parents' money for stuff! I knew I had their permission, I just always forgot to ask!"

"How is that any different?" Sky shrugged at Yang's question.

They were interrupted by a knock at their door. After sharing a glance, Sky stood up and opened the dorm's door, allowing Lie Ren of Team PWVR into view. He looked at them all and sighed, much like he usually did when dealing with Nora.

"Please," he said, "if you want to talk about your criminal exploits, that's fine, but do so quietly. It would be hard to stop Nora, Weiss and probably even Pyrrha from arresting you if they hear. You're just lucky I have a better hearing than any of them."

And without a further word, he left the room, much like Ozpin had done.

/-/

"Hurry up, you stupid animals, can't you at least do _something_ right and quickly?"

Roman Torchwick sighed as the two White Fang grunts continued to move the crates painfully slowly. The thief's day had not been the greatest thus far. After the confrontation with Cinder the week prior, about that stupid game, he had been forced in bed by Neo for four full days, healing fourth-degree burns or something. The damn bitch was as dumb as hell sometimes, but she did hit like a freight train. At least she did have the power she so arrogantly claimed to have, and he had found out first-hand.

Rubbing his forehead, the thief looked around at the room full of Dust containers. From vials to tubes to crates and boxes. All fruit of his effort, and what an effort it had been. And not even the heists themselves, those had been easy, but the management.

Most people thought that to be a thief, one just had to go somewhere, steal something, and get out without being caught. Roman Torchwick knew better. Stealing was the easy part. Organization was the hard part. Even back when he was on his own, he still had to have a place where to keep the stolen merchandise while he waited to sell it on the black market, and he had to watch out for other thieves as well. As he got bigger, his management got more complicated too. Stealing a car was easy, but finding a place where to keep it in top shape while waiting for someone to buy it was hell, especially if he had to steal many cars at the same time.

Managing an entire criminal empire was so stressful Torchwick had two days off a week, and two months of paid vacation every year. But that before before High Lady Bitch came in and destroyed everything he had worked towards for more than a decade. In a matter of hours, or rather minutes, Roman Torchwick had gone from criminal mastermind at the head of an impressive criminal empire, to petty thug and pawn in her grand schemes.

And of course, he had been dumped the responsibility to lead those stupid animals that called themselves the White Fang. Those idiots dropped highly volatile Dust, confused very important crates with semi-worthless ones, and all around couldn't do a job right to save their lives. Roman had seen six-year-old children doing a better job than those imbeciles.

They weren't too bad at fighting, but that was their only redeeming quality, and they sucked when compared to Hunters or Hunters in training.

As the two White Fang members carrying the crate moved it in the wrong place _again_ , Torchwick shook his head and just let them. He didn't have nearly enough time nor patience to deal with those idiots. "Let's just hope the next heist is gonna go smoothly. If it doesn't, either Cinder or my stress are gonna get my head. My money is on the former."

 ** _Khor has to cook dinner for the family. He is sorry for not commenting this parody chapter. I hope you enjoyed._**

 ** _Also, finally Ozpin uses his brain and makes fun of the teenagers._**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	18. Crime Competition

**_Hi~ Did you miss me?_**

 ** _Anyway, usual stuff, I want to kick my brother, he's bunking with me these days and he's unbearable, as I said usual stuff, let's move onto the chapter now, shall we?_**

"Here is Red 4. Repeat, this is Red 4. Gold 5 can you hear me?"

 _"Here is Gold 5. Yes, Red 4, I can hear you loud and clear. Are you in position?"_

"Yes Gold 5, are Yellow 4 and Grey 3 in position too?"

 _"They are, Red 4. Grey 5, Black 4, Yellow 6 and Yellow 7 too, but they shall not intervene."_

"Got it, Gold 5. Any signs of our target yet?"

 _"Negative. Anything on your side?"_

"Negative as well, unfortunately. I will wait for signal."

Ruby cut off the communication and sighed. "And let's hope for the best…"

"Hey, come on, this is Ozpin's plan, of course it'll go just fine," Jaune reassured her, also turning off his earpiece, bringing her in a one-armed hug and deeply inhaling her shampoo's scent. "Also, Ruby, while chocolate cookies smell good, you shouldn't use chocolate-flavoured shampoo. Strawberry is better."

"Yang stole it two days ago and I still haven't been able to buy a new bottle," shrugged the girl. "I didn't think it'd be so important… do you don't like it?"

"I'd like it better with a scentless shampoo or a strawberry one," replied the boy. "Anyway, don't worry. We'll solve this just fine. The White Fang comes in, Blake shows up, we all fight, and if things go awry we have Ozpin, Auntie Glynda, Qrow and Taiyang ready to rush in."

 _"Those are Uncle Qrow and Dad for you!"_ Taiyang remind through the earpiece. _"Don't you dare forget it, you are a Rose Xiao Long now!"_

"…yeah, we have Ozpin, Auntie, Uncle and Dad ready to help us if things go awry," amended the boy, ignoring Sky's laughter in the earpiece as he turned it off. "So why worry?"

"I don't know, it's just…" Ruby also turned off the earpiece and brought her legs up to her chest. "Last time I fought, against Torchwick, I…"

She trailed off, but her companion well knew what she meant. "You died," he finished softly, and she flinched. He embraced her a little closer, not really knowing what else to do.

"It hurt, you know? I never told Yang or Dad or Uncle Qrow, but dying hurt so much," she recalled shakily. "One moment he threw this Dust crystal at me, and the next everything went red, and I hit the wall, and it hurt so very much. I wanted to scream but I couldn't, I couldn't even make a sound. I felt like all my body was on fire, and then everything went black, and next thing I knew, I was standing in front of you and Yang, in the forge, with the others gaping at me, in a corset quite a bit too small for me."

Jaune bit his lip at her tale, and nuzzled his nose in her hair, not caring for the chocolatey scent. "Ruby… do you want to stay away from the White Fang? Do you want us to take them on?"

"No!" Her sudden outburst surprised him, and she blushed slightly when she realized she had shouted. "I'm sorry Jaune, it's just… I don't want to risk losing any of you. I was so stupid to believe I could take on Torchwick, I don't want to make that same mistake twice." She blinked the tears away. "Luck saved me but I don't want to rely on luck to save you."

A soft clatter brought her gaze to the ground, where four dice laid all with the 6 face up. Looking up at Jaune, she found him smiling. "Come on, I told you before. Luck doesn't exist, we'll use skill and strength. And if the White Fang seems to be too strong, I'll challenge them at dice and get some money out of them while you all regain your energies."

Ruby giggled. "My knight in shining armour… saving the day by cheating at dice."

"Eh, you do what you can, right?" smiled the boy. "Maybe I can take one or two goons, but as sure as Dust I'm not going face-to-face with the White Fang as a whole. You are the juggernauts, I am the trickster with some aces up my sleeve."

"Like?"

"Have I ever told you dice is by far not the only thing I can cheat at?" grinned the boy. "Poker against me is suicide, I can assure you. Many other little games too."

"That's what you learned travelling around the world?" giggled Ruby.

"Well, yeah, of course. I mean, if the people are dumb enough to play against the young stranger, then I will welcome their money. Think of it as charity," joked Jaune, and immediately recognized his mistake when she stopped laughing.

"You tricked people like that?!" she exclaimed, staring at him in shock. "Jaune! That's a horrible thing to do!"

"No, no, wait, that's not what I meant!" the boy put his hands up in defence. "Well, yes, no, I mean… argh! It's complicated! I know it wasn't a nice thing to do, but I never took too much money, and most of the times I didn't even use for myself. I didn't ruin anyone's life, I swear!"

Ruby's glare didn't lessen much. "Jaune, that's still a very bad thing to do! You can't trick people like that, it's a crime!"

"Hey, sorry if my mom didn't have enough money to give me and I had to find my own ways to get it!" Jaune snapped back, irritated. "I bet you've never had problems with money, didn't you?!"

"Stealing is wrong no matter what!"

"I know, and honestly I think we needed that money more than they did. It's not like I tricked the ones who were desperate for a Lien!" Jaune backed away from her, putting a few feet between the two. "Yes, I stole money, and I would do it all again if I had the chance to re-live my life! Not everyone comes from a family like yours, Ruby, and not everyone can afford to waste money on weapon magazines and whatnot, just because they are interesting!"

Ruby flinched and looked away. "I know not everyone has money like we do," she replied heatedly. "But this does not make stealing any better."

"No, it doesn't, we can agree on that," huffed Jaune, returning to sit, even though he still kept a good foot between the two. "That doesn't mean I wouldn't do it again if I had to. Besides, you broke the law by fighting Torchwick."

"But I was doing that to help that poor shopkeeper!" exclaimed Ruby.

"And I was doing that for other reasons!" he shot back. "Look, I'm not saying that breaking the law is okay, but the point is that basically no one really follows every single law in the kingdom! There are far too many! Even right now, we're being vigilantes!"

Ruby crossed her arms and looked away. "Breaking the law for good and tricking people is not the same," she grumbled.

"And I'm not asking you to forgive me," he grumbled back. "We are here to help Blake, not to discuss of our crimes."

"Why did you do that anyway?! You wanted to become a Huntsman, that's not what a Huntsman does!"

"Look, you do many stupid things when you're young, and I was fourteen at the time, can we just drop it?" She continued to stare at him without any sign of stopping. "It was… ugh, fine, I wanted to buy Pumpkin Pete boxes to try and get the hoodie, but I never managed to get enough points. Plus, my mother threw the boxes out of the car every time she saw them."

Ruby stared at him. "You're joking."

"Unfortunately I am not," sighed the boy, running a hand through his hair. "I'm really serious. Besides, tricking people makes you far less money than you'd think. People are not _that_ stupid. But by the time I managed to get fifty points, the company had stopped giving out the hoodies and instead gave out some stupid little trinket to put on a necklace."

Seeing his pout was too much. Ruby clamped a hand over her mouth and _howled_ in laughter at the boy's tale, leaving him to sulk.

/-/

"Ms Rose and Mr Arc seem to be getting along fine," noted Ozpin, glancing at the two from above a nearby container. The old Headmaster was laying down on his belly, his cane beside him and his ever-present mug in his right hand. In his left, he was holding a pair of binoculars.

"Good to know," a blond replied from beside him, also eyeing the duo. The man was Taiyang Xiao Long, father of Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long, the man who had attempted to adopt Jaune regardless of the boy's age and still living family. To tell the truth, he could've easily been mistaken for Jaune's father, as both had blond hair and blue eyes, although Taiyang's skin was far more tanned than Jaune's. "What about the others?"

"Ms Xiao Long and Mr Lark seem to have reached the unspoken agreement to try and make it impossible for Glynda and Qrow to keep track of them," sighed the older man, shaking his head in disapproval, although one could've also detected a small hint of amusement in his voice. "They seem to be constantly changing their hiding spot to try and find a better one. My guess is that they are searching for Ms Belladonna before the White Fang arrives to try and bring her back at Beacon without having to fight. I'm also almost sure the 'without having to fight' part was Mr Lark's addition. Without any offence, your daughter is truly a fan of combat."

"Heh, with an uncle like Qrow and Raven's genes in her blood, even my levelheadedness cannot win over her lust for adrenaline, so of course she's a fan of combat. Heck, her whole reason for being a Huntress is to feel the rush of fighting, though I can assure you she has a good heart." Taiyang sighed and laid his chin on his hands, still laid down on his belly beside Ozpin, who even laying down had his mug of coffee in his hand, somehow managing not to spill any of the precious liquid. "I can't remember just how many times I tried to teach her not to let the rush of battle take over her mind, but it's impossible. I mean, I love her dearly, but sometimes I don't think she's really ready to become a Huntress. She does not understand what kind of pressure she'll have to shoulder outside of combat, and if she doesn't, she'll risk to go rogue instead of facing the responsibility. She thinks that adrenaline is all what being a Huntress will be like. Bureaucracy is definitely not her forte."

"And you think Ms Rose or Mr Arc Rose Xiao Long could handle bureaucracy?" asked Ozpin, raising an eyebrow. "Again, I do not mean any offence to you nor to your family, but both seem a bit too naive, they think being a Hunter is just about rushing in and fighting the bad guys. While no student in my Academy really know how it will be like, I do not see how they can be any readier than Ms Xiao Long in that regard. So why are you singling out your eldest daughter? She's not the only one who's not ready."

"None of them is, but that's the point: Beacon is a school. Ozpin, you do not know Yang like I do. Ruby and Jaune are both naive, yes, but they are ready to learn… I think. They are ready to accept what your Professors teach them. Yang… she's a complicated matter. Just like during training with me." The two adults exchanged a glance. "She would take in everything she thought she would need, and disregard the rest. Oum only knows how many times I've told her that she does not use her legs enough, but has she learned? No. I taught her how to punch, and she learned it. I taught her how to tank a hit, and she learned. I taught her how to use a shotgun, and she learned. But when I taught her how to kick, or how to keep dodging, or how to be defensive? Little to nothing, that's what she learned."

"Not everyone has to have a very versatile fighting style, Tai," Ozpin reminded him, though he could see his friend's point. "Ms Xiao Long is among the top first years."

"That's not the point. Those are spars, you can't go too far. Plus, she's too impatient and quick to anger. And she relies on her Semblance too much. But she's too stubborn to get that without learning it in real life. No matter how many spars she loses because of that, she'll just chalk it off as her opponent being more skilled, and she'll train more, but never expanding her skillset." Taiyang sighed. "I love my daughter dearly, but she really should learn how to listen without having to suffer from her mistakes."

"Sometimes people have to learn the hard way, like Ms Belladonna… or like Ms Rose when she went against Torchwick," Ozpin remarked wisely. "Besides, I am sure Ms Xiao Long will handle the responsibility of being a Huntress just fine."

"Well, here's hoping you are right, old friend." Tai's gaze sharpened. "But anyway, speaking of my family… the adoption didn't go smoothly, did it?"

"I'm afraid you've been denied the right to adopt the boy. He is with family and he is seventeen." Ozpin pursued his lips and placed a hand on the blond's shoulder. "I am truly sorry, Tai, I am. I'd help you if I could, but I do not think I can change the law just like that."

"Then we find another way to add him to the family," grumbled the man. "I got it. Oz, do me a solid and find me some marriage papers. He'll marry Ruby."

Ozpin blinked at him in shock. "I… I've never seen a boy pass your exam and earn your approval, Tai, much less someone you barely know."

"This boy quite literally resurrected my daughter. Hadn't he done that, Ruby would've been dead now. That was a miracle. Plus I've talked with Yang and Glynda, the boy has a good heart. Maybe not too fond of the law, but that can be fixed." Taiyang shrugged. "Honestly, if I did not approve of him, I wouldn't approve of anyone. Plus Ruby is totally crushing on him, my dad instincts are going off nonstop, so that won't be a problem."

"Are you sure this is a wise idea? You'd have to go through Glynda…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…You know, maybe we should wait a little and see what happens. Better let them sort it out themselves, after all."

/-/

Ruby Rose was certain that the night could've gone worse, but for the life of hers she couldn't imagine how.

After the White Fang, and for some reason Roman Torchwick, had showed up, she had been on the verge of backing down. Only after Jaune offered her to stay back while the others fought she had gotten over her sudden fear and joined the fray, knocking out the White Fang grunt who had been trying to shoot at Jaune.

While Blake, after her little speech, fought against Torchwick, she and the rest quickly had reduced the White Fang to a heap of groaning bodies, piled up by Yang. But that wasn't what made the night so bad.

The point was that one of the White Fang goons' sword had broken while trying to parry Crescent Rose, and a steel splinter had gotten stuck in her beloved weapon's mechanisms.

She had removed it at once, of course, but her night had already been ruined. All the other White Fang members found no mercy in the young caped Huntress. She knew she could've protected the inner mechanisms more, like she did for Jaune's weapon, but then people wouldn't have been able to see just how cool and awesome Crescent Rose was, and she hadn't designed, built, lost and rebuilt it just to hide away how awesome her baby was! So she left the cool mechanisms in plain sight. And that was why she got so angry whenever someone or something managed to ruin them, or stop them for a while. Like that steel splinter.

And then, Blake had been defeated by Torchwick, alongside her new friend, and was being held at gunpoint by the criminal while the monkey Faunus stood a few yards away, unable to do anything to stop the execution.

That is, until Jaune decided to do a very dumb thing, and threw his shield like a frisbee at the criminal, who swatted it aside with his cane without even looking. The distraction was almost enough for Blake to get away. Almost. The moment she tried, Roman's cane hit the back of her knees, making her fall once again.

"Seems like the kitty cat doesn't like to play," snorted the criminal, aiming his cane back at her. "What a pity. Your little ninja with the shield maybe wanted you to play fetch."

Usually, Ruby would've used her Semblance to dart in and attack Torchwick to try and distract him from the girl. However, after her last run-in with the man, she hesitated, and that instant of hesitation allowed someone else to take her place.

"YOU BASTARD!" A flaming meteor known as Yang Xiao Long impacted against the criminal, sending him flying through a container and into the second. "You killed my sister, you motherfucker!"

Torchwick scrambled to his feet and glowered at the girl. "Ugh, it seems I was right, children can do a better job than those animals. Would any of you be interested in becoming thieves?"

Yang's shotguns unloading a volley of shells at him was the answer he got. Sighing, he blocked all the attacks and picked up a Fire Dust crystal from one of the crates in the container Yang had sent him through. "Let's light up the party!" he laughed as he threw the crystal at Yang, aiming to shoot it with his cane later, but Yang was a step ahead of him and shot it in mid-air, making it explode. "Ugh, stupid children."

"If you want to light up the party, well here I am!" shouted Yang, activating her Semblance and charging at the criminal, who merely sidestepped her. "Stay still!"

"And why should I?" he asked before a bullet impacted on his back, making him stumble right into Yang's reach.

"Thanks Rubes!" the blond shouted as she punched the criminal back into the container.

"No problem!" Ruby shouted back as she stood guard while Jaune and Sky helped up Blake and the monkey Faunus they now knew was called Sun. She turned to the two of them with a worried expression. "Are you two okay?"

"We are, but we can't let Torchwick get away!" exclaimed Blake, trying to walk and failing as her knee buckled. "…After we recover a bit," she conceded with a sigh before looking at her saviours. "But… why are you here?"

"Well, you're our teammate, where should we be?" asked Jaune as he switched his weapon into bow mode and formed an Aura arrow. "Besides, no one of us care if you're a Faunus! I mean, we'd have to be really dumb to discriminate because of that!"

"Err… yeah… really really dumb…" mumbled Sky, fidgeting with his halberd. "Only an idiot would do that…"

His mouth clicked shut as everyone looked at him.

"Yeah, we don't hate you for that!" exclaimed Ruby as the five of them watched Yang try to kill Torchwick, who was by now just running around while dodging shotgun shells. "We all miss you, Blake! Even if, you know, you don't exactly talk much…"

"What Ruby is trying to say, we don't care if you're a Faunus and we'd like to get you back," Sky cut in.

"But… you're human," Blake pointed out the obvious, and all her three present teammates raised an eyebrow at that. "I mean, why don't you hate me? I even lied to you!"

"Meh, I've done worse," shrugged Sky. "Ruby's the only one who could really judge you but she's too Ruby to do that."

"I…" Blake glanced at Sun, who grinned and shot her a double thumbs-up. "I was also part of the White Fang."

Jaune, Ruby and Sky blinked.

"I tricked people at cards and dice, and I forged my way into Beacon," shrugged Jaune.

"I am a former bully and vandal, plus I kind of sort of broke into private property when I was younger because my friends dared me to," added Sky, looking a little sheepish. "You do a lot of stupid stuff when you're younger."

Ruby bit her lip and looked away. "…At the robbery I stopped, I _may_ have caused severe property damage and sent four people to the hospital in an excess of self-defence… Dad said he had to pay a few hundreds Lien because of those damages…" She sighed and slumped. "And Yang is responsible for unprovoked and provoked assault and severe damage property."

Sun whoa'd and looked at them in awe. "Blake, your team is awesome," he breathed in wonder before clearing his head and throat. "My name is Sun Wukong. I'm a Huntsman in training, and I am leader of my team, Team SSSN. As for my crimes, I'm a stowaway, and I ditched my team to get here faster. I also steal stuff sometimes, though mostly just food."

Blake glared at the four of them.

"Oh, also the only reason I'm even in Beacon is because Glynda Goodwitch, the deputy headmistress, is my aunt," Jaune added as an afterthought. "I'm guessing that counts as nepotism, right? And Ruby is in only because… well, because my Semblance kind of linked her to me, I think that too could be called nepotism?"

"I think it could, yeah," nodded Sky. "So, Blake, White Fang you say? Eh, this is new. We didn't have thief and terrorist yet in our list."

Blake hid her face in her hands. "I've always thought that the first human not to hate me for what I am and what I've done would've been a great hero or an incredibly wise person. I never thought I'd be accepted and understood by a bunch of criminals proud to be criminals…"

"Hey, _he_ is a criminal!" exclaimed Ruby, pointing at Torchwick, who was still running from Yang, his hat long lost. "We are… err… rule breakers?"

Everyone stared at her.

"Yeah, she still has a hard time accepting the truth," sighed Sky, placing a hand on her shoulder, making her pout. "But anyway Blake, I'd say you shouldn't be too surprised. After all, who's better to understand a criminal than another criminal?"

"My team is just so weird…" Blake mumbled softly. "A resurrecter, an undead, a juggernaut, and… whatever Sky is. Why couldn't I get a more normal one?"

"A more normal team might not have supported you," Sun pointed out.

Blake stared doubtfully at her three teammates – the fourth still chasing the fleeing criminal all around the docks. "While I was in the White Fang, I stole," she informed them with suspicion in her voice.

"I forged my transcripts to get in Beacon," Jaune countered easily.

"And I knocked out people to do that," added Blake.

"Yang knocked out and injured dozens of people at that club of hers," Sky replied flatly.

"I caused untold amounts of property damage!"

"I caused property damage too while fighting Torchwick," Ruby piped up.

"I hijacked cargoes!"

The three glanced at each other before Jaune laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "We haven't done that… yet. Can you teach us? Just in case we need to, so that we don't end up caught unprepared."

Blake face-palmed. "I should've expected such an answer, honestly…" she sighed dejectedly. "I can't believe this. I was so worried you would've hated me for my crimes… that I never considered you might've been criminals too."

"Well, that's what friends are for!" exclaimed Sun, holding up a hand for a high-five he didn't receive.

Blake looked at her teammates and shook her head. "I… I'm sorry. I was so certain you would hate me… Maybe Ozpin was right. Maybe I do behave like I'm the only intelligent person in the world."

"Aww, no problem Blake! Now let's help Yang with fighting Torchwick!" cheered Ruby, pumping a fist in the air. "Let's split up to try and surround him!"

"Yeah! Sky, you are with Blake and Sun. Both have low Aura, keep them safe. Ruby is with me. Ruby, same thing as Sky. I'll be next to useless, don't let me die," Jaune commanded with a happy tone just before the roar of an engine was heard and a Bullhead passed over their heads.

A tired Yang came running from behind a container, shouting as loud as she could, "Come back you scumbag, I'm not done with you!" Pausing for breath, she panted as she glared at the five of them. "And you. You could've at least helped me!"

"Sorry Yang, we were checking on Blake," Ruby apologized meekly, shrinking into her hood with an embarrassed blush.

"For ten minutes straight?!" exclaimed the blonde brawler, shocked. "Just how long does it take for someone to say 'are you okay?' and for the other to reply yes or no?"

Jaune laughed nervously again and rubbed the back of his head. "Actually, we were also talking with Blake. You know, telling her we're not mad nor we hate her, and all of that."

Yang levelled him with a flat stare. "And you couldn't have done that _after_ we captured Torchwick?!" she exclaimed. "Now he got away! He is the one who kil… the one who _almost_ killed Ruby and he fucking got away!"

"Yang, calm down, we'll get him next time, okay?" Ruby collapsed her weapon back in compact form and hugged her sister. "Don't worry, we'll stop him next time, once and for all. I'm sorry for not helping you, I…"

"No. It's not your fault, you're not expected to rush in a fight with the guy who… almost killed you just a month or two ago," Blake spoke up, bowing her head and making everyone focus on her cat ears as it was the first time any of them saw them. "I should've fought better… it's my fault."

"No, Blake, it's not… we all could've fought him, and we all didn't," replied Ruby, detaching herself from her sister and looking at her friend. Then her gaze went a little higher. "And… Blake? Can I pet those?"

 ** _Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this chapter. Like... it is supposed to be humour, but it is not funny, and I'm not sure it came out just right. Might be because I'm sick. Oh well, too late to go back now._**

 ** _The codenames are basically their hair colour and how long their names are._**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	19. Semblance Pains

**_*zombie-like groan as Khor walks out of a grave with a name on it. Hint, it's not his name*_**

 ** _Ugh, feels like forever since I last updated Extension. And... it's actually a whole month, f***! Well, what can I say? I was busy. Really really busy with two new translation jobs that I just finished. And now I applied for three full-time jobs, one in Dublin, one in London and one in Canada (don't remember the city). So yeah, yippie for taking it easy and slow._**

For a second back at the docks, things seemed to have gone back to normal for Roman Torchwick. Committing a crime and getting away with it, or fight his way out. That was how he lived his early days in the criminal underworld of Vale. That was how he had made a name for himself. Not by slacking off nor by being caught, but by being the damn best thief in the city. And even though back at the docks he had eventually gotten the hell out of there in a hurry thanks to that raging monster in flame-girl form, that night had really reminded him of the good old days of crime.

Standing in front of Cinder Fall was not something he ever recalled doing in the good old days. That was mainly what made them 'good' and not just old days.

"You failed," Cinder stated plainly. Her voice was like a razor-sharp sword wrapped in the softest of silks, caressing his ears as she spoke. Oh, and the silk was on fire of course. "You failed so spectacularly we actually had to _buy_ the Dust we needed. With how ridiculous and embarrassing that was I am really inclined to kill you at the moment, Roman, but unfortunately… you are still useful to us. So all I will deliver will be a small punishment…"

Roman Torchwick began to sweat as his eyes landed on the victim of said punishment. "Listen, yes I messed up and I almost got caught, but not all hope is lost, you know? The deadline you gave me is still a few days away if not more. I can steal more! Way way more! Isn't that what you want? Instead of settling for what you have, you could send me to Atlas with the White Fang and I'll steal as much Dust as you want! I can also free some Faunus miners while I'm at it so the Fang will have more men for you to use! Doesn't that sound good enough?"

Cinder smirked as she lit a hand in flames. "Oh, Roman, you really do get the most wonderful ideas when you want to. Unfortunately, you have come up with this one too late. Far too late. Had you offered _before_ I had to spend Lien on Dust, maybe you would've been able to escape your punishment. But now? Now I'm afraid it's too late…"

"No, wait! Don't do that!" Roman tried to reach out, to save the helpless victim, but those two ass-kissers of hers kept him from moving. Damn the two were stronger than he had thought. They were so distracted usually, that he could've stolen their underwear without them noticing, but apparently when they were focused they could actually do their job. "Look, I know I failed, but it's not like I could've prepared for an entire Beacon team! I simply don't have enough people to deal with that, so even if I had fought, the only thing I would've gotten would've been my ass handed to me and then sent to prison!"

"The simple fact those students were there at the docks speaks of how much you've failed, Roman. I do not care how they managed to get wind of your operation, but somehow they did, and they disrupted it. It is true, it is not your fault you failed to defeat warriors even Emerald or Mercury wouldn't have an easy time with. Your failure was allowing them to get you in the first place," Cinder continued sensually and dangerously at the same time. "But your idea isn't wrong per se. You will _also_ go to Atlas and steal directly from the Schnee quarries, freeing as many Faunus miners as you can to make them join the White Fang, and then you will flee the kingdom before you are caught." Cinder's voice suddenly went from fifty percent sexy and fifty percent dangerous, to ten and ninety. "And this time, if you get caught, I will incinerate _you_."

Cinder lowered her hand and set the unmoving victim of her powers on fire before extinguishing the flames in her hand. She bypassed Torchwick and nodded to her underlings, who continued to restrain the man – even though his mad struggles were starting to give them problems, especially since they weren't allowed to just knock him out.

"NO!" Roman Torchwick screamed and struggled as he desperately tried to free himself to save the burning victim. He couldn't take his eyes off the macabre spectacle.

"Oh, come on, it's just a hat!" Emerald huffed as she kept him from rushing to save his flaming bowler hat.

/-/

Yang Xiao Long whistled a mindless tune as she neared her dorm with her teammate Blake in tow. Teammate, and possible partner. Possible because due to the fact their team was a Frankenstein-like one sewed together with parts of the old Team JWVL and parts of the old Team NBLS, partnerships were a little harder to decide. Everyone considered Jaune and Ruby partners because of Jaune's Semblance, but technically his partner was Weiss. Likewise, Yang's partner was Blake, technically, but then Sky would've remained without partner. Teams weren't supposed to be made of five people, after all.

Yang didn't know if she should've thanked or damned Professor Goodwitch for allowing it. She had done so to allow Ruby to remain, for Jaune's sake if nothing else, so Yang knew that on a rational level she should've been grateful. But the headaches she got every time there was a partner vs partner match, or Oum forbids a partners vs another pair of partners match, those were definitely not worth it. It was so easy for Jaune and Ruby, even an idiot would've paired up the two linked by some Semblance bullshit. But Blake, Sky and Yang didn't have any sort of special connection.

Maybe she was allowed to change partners whenever she wished? Yang smirked. Now that sounded like a good deal. Or maybe she could have both as her partners, so that she could drag them to a club with the excuse of 'partner bonding'.

Yang snorted at the idea. Sky, she could probably manage. The boy was so go-with-the-flow that she could've asked him to assault Atlas with the team and he would've probably sided with the majority no matter which side the majority was.

Blake… she was a completely different story. Despite Yang being her initial partner, the girl was the opposite of social. And the fact that the aftermath of her leaving was still lingering in the air around them even though it had been a few days since the incident at the docks surely didn't help the tension between her and the team. Add to that the knowledge she had trusted a random Faunus she had just met over four humans she had known for five weeks already, and Yang wasn't really sure if things could be put behind them so quickly. And if things couldn't be put behind them, how good of a partnership could that be?

Jaune and Ruby had probably forgiven her already. Heck, Yang would've been really surprised if the two hadn't. Ruby was just a cinnamon roll, and Jaune was… a buttered bread bun? The male counterpart of Ruby, in that regard.

Sky was a little uncomfortable around Blake still, probably because of the whole 'terrorist' thing, but that was it. He had gladly accepted taking Cargo Hijacking lessons from her alongside Jaune. Ruby had kind of been bribed into studying that subject with cookies. Lots and lots of cookies.

Yang was still on the fence though. She was of course happy Blake had come back safe and sound, but a not so small part of her was still pissed to have been abandoned. _Again_ , like her mother had done so many years ago. Sure, aside from comradeship Blake had no real connection to her, unlike her _freaking mother_ , but it still hurt. To think that a month and more of friendship could be thrown out of the window just like that. Who knew, maybe Blake had never been her friend to begin with.

She sighed. It was far too early to worry about stuff like that.

She reached her dorm's door and knocked three times, just to know if Jaune was still naked after taking a shower. They technically changed in the bathroom, but she had learned the hard way that was not always the case, even with the stickler for rules. Pyrrha had learned too from that experience, or at least Yang thought she had. The redhead's mighty blush had surely seemed to agree with the blonde.

"Go away…" Yang's danger senses immediately activated, together with her big sister instincts. Jaune's voice was very weak, _very_ pained, and quite angry. From how subdued and strained it had sounded, Yang was pretty sure he was doubled over. And that meant something was wrong.

Yang didn't even have to think twice before she unlocked the door with her Scroll. Opening it, she was greeted with the disturbing sight of Jaune, as suspected curled up in fetal position on his bed, his weapon laying by his side. Yang winced. She had forgotten they were supposed to go sparring later, but it didn't matter any more. Jaune definitely wasn't in the right condition for sparring.

The boy was holding his stomach, or so it looked. He looked pale, not green, but nonetheless Yang didn't trust herself to come closer, just in case he really did need to throw up. He was also gritting his teeth in pain, whimpering harshly every time the pain flared. And said flares seemed to be happening quite often.

"G-Go away…" he growled again, glaring at her with a look that did not speak of murder, no that was straight-out genocide. Another jab of pain forced him to shut his eyes and curl even tighter into himself. "F-For fuck's sake go away!"

Yang decided that stepping any closer wouldn't be a good idea, and she was perfectly right. "Jaune? What are you feeling? Where's the pain?"

A string of obscenities was all the answer she got, each more wicked than the previous one.

The blonde was confused as hell, and worried no less. Was it something Jaune had eaten? No, they had all eaten the same stuff. Allergies were ruled out as Aura negated those. The only thing that could bypass Aura was something done by the body itself, so outsider allergens couldn't harm the system. And the only thing even relatively close to that…

She froze. It wasn't possible…

…Was it?

She did a little mental math.

It _was_ the right day.

But Ruby had looked perfectly fine earlier at breakfast. So it wasn't like they were sharing the pain… Jaune was getting it all. Yang winced. For someone unprepared, waking up to that must've been really really horrible. She very slowly backed up to the door and grasped the handle.

"Jaune? I think… I think you got period in Ruby's stead."

She slammed the door closed milliseconds before Cauchemar impaled itself through the reinforced wood an inch from her head. That was going to be a big problem.

/-/

Dragging Jaune out of the dorm turned out to be an heroic feat all by itself. It took Yang's strength and Blake's weapon's ribbon to restrain the boy, who was screaming bloody murder all the while. After pushing some painkillers down his throat, he calmed down… marginally. Just enough not to try and murder every student in his wake. Definitely not enough to stop glaring at everything as if he did wish to murder everyone.

Yang took it as an improvement.

Pulling him along to Grimm Studies was doable only after Blake had used her ribbon again, this time to make a makeshift gag to prevent him from tearing the Professor a verbal new one or two. The elder man, though, seemed to pick up on the sheer killing intent and raw bloodlust that emanated from the usually kind and well-mannered boy, and kept his distance from their side of the class. Instead of boring them to death with yet another of his damned stories, he chose to show them a documentary on how villages built their walls and protections to maximize their usefulness against them Grimm. That proved to be an actually interesting subject. Unfortunately, Jaune was not in the mood for enjoying himself. No one proved to be suicidal enough to ask why the boy was gagged.

Professor Oobleck showed similar insight and survival instincts during his History Class. Instead of zooming around, he settled for walking at sub-par speed, keeping himself from going within a ten feet radius from Jaune. Even his minigun-fast speech had slowed down to the point where even Cardin had no problem taking notes… or he wouldn't have had problems, had he actually bothered to take notes. Which he hadn't. Like always.

During Politics of Remnant, Professor Ozpin was kind enough to allow Jaune to step outside the classroom for a few minutes to get the tension out of his system. After a few minutes of screaming curses like a drunk sailor who had just lost all his money playing at dice and then even stubbed his toe, Yang had dragged the boy back, gagged once more. A couple of idiots had dared giggle, but Yang's pissed off look did wonders at shutting them up. It probably also helped the fact that Jaune's pained but wrathful glower could've cut and cooked raw meat into steaks in a handful of seconds.

Lunch was even more of a mess, even though that gave Yang the chance to pun. Jaune barely ate anything as the cramps made it all too easy for him to just throw everything back up. The curious but worried looks of the others didn't help, either. Yang hadn't told them exactly what Jaune was suffering from to spare him from the humiliation, but that only made them ask questions. Free of his gag, Jaune was very crabby and had no qualms about letting them know what he thought of those questions. After he and Weiss got into a heated argument that then developed into a screaming match, and after said argument ended with Jaune being hurriedly dragged to the bathroom to vomit even his soul, Yang decided that on the first day, lunch wasn't an option. He'd lack energies, but maybe that would make it easier for him to fall asleep that night.

But then came the class Yang was looking forward the very least.

Grimm Combat Class, held by Professor Port.

As opposite to the normal Combat Class, which put students against students, that class had the students fight Grimm in several environments, using a technology that resembled the one used in the Amity Coliseum for the team vs team and double rounds.

What made that class terrible was the fact she'd probably get called down to fight, and as such she'd be unable to stop Jaune if more cramps made him decide to go on a killing spree. Yang knew even the most normal of girls on their period could kill an Ursa barehanded, so she dreaded to know what he, with Aura and a weapon, could do to the other students. Thankfully, the boy seemed content to just curl up and wish to die as the pain continued to wrack his lower half, with Ruby looking guilty beyond belief beside him, unsure of what to do.

Of course Yang had broken down and told Ruby. If anything, because it was her fault Yang had to take care of a highly murderous Jaune.

As soon as classes were over, they'd bring him to Professor Goodwitch and unload the responsibility to the older woman, but up until then, he was a pained boy with a sword and the will to use it.

However, as it turned out, Yang shouldn't have worried about being called down. Professor Port, for all his windbag tales, was not blind to his students, and if there was anything Jaune needed, it was to bring a few Grimm to extinction.

"Would Jaune Arc please get ready and step into the arena?" he called out as the first thing after he entered the classroom.

Ruby opened her mouth to protest, probably to say something about it being a bad idea, but Yang just wrapped a hand over her mouth and lightly pushed Jaune out of his seat. "He's gonna be okay, Ruby, he needs to unwind."

"But he's in pain," argued the younger girl. "He's in no condition for a fight!"

"You don't know how wrong you are. Just because you and I have learned how to use Aura to avoid the pain and discomfort, it doesn't mean he can do the same. Let me tell you, before learning to 'cure' it, you too could throw knives at people when you had your period."

Ruby blushed in shame at the sharp remark and seemed to accept the explanation for the time being.

A few students snickered at the way Jaune crawled into the forest-like arena, not even taking out his weapons, preferring to just wrap his arms around his lower midsection. Professor Port didn't even ask if he was ready before releasing the Grimm, five Beowolves as first wave.

The snickers fell silent as Jaune didn't seem to even acknowledge the monsters' presence, and more than a student began to wonder what was he doing. They got their answer when the first Beowolf lunged and tried to bite him, only for his hands to lash out and grab its body, ripping it in two with a roar that sounded less human than the Beowolf's own growl. Screaming bloody murder like a madman, Jaune began to tear into the Grimm with a violence that left more than a student horrified. The clumsy and dorky knight tore, clawed, kicked and even bit, tearing out a Beowolf's throat with his teeth and spitting out the black flesh back in its face. He jammed a hand down a Beowolf's gullet, pushing so hard it couldn't even close its jaws.

Yang chose to at least cover Ruby's eyes, much to the girl's annoyance, while Blake covered her ears.

She did so not a moment too soon. The boy ripped his arm out of the monster's oesophagus, taking the walls of the passageway with it, leaving the agonizing creature to die. Another Beowolf bit down on his other arm while he was distracted and began to chew through his Aura, but he returned the favour by chomping down on the Beowolf's neck, making it yelp in pain and let go. Not like Jaune let go, though, he instead ripped the flesh off and threw the Beowolf into the dying one with yet another yell that both held and promised pain.

Adrenaline was a good way to temporarily forget pain, sometimes. Inflicting pain also made it better, it seemed.

A few more Beowolves entered the to support the remaining two. Jaune didn't heed their arrival at all, choosing instead to grab an unfortunately nearby Grimm's lower jaw and ripping it off from the skull. Not stopping there, the boy raged on as he repeatedly smashed the Grimm's head to mush with its own jaw. When the instrument of death finally turned to dust, Jaune seemed to only get even angrier. He snatched a Beowolf from mid-air when it pounced at him and crushing it against the ground, slamming it time and again to make sure it was dead or, more probably given his current mental state, just because he wanted to. The poor creature only had time to let out a pitiful whine before its head found out that the ground was the harder of the two.

"Die, fucking die you bastards!" he uttered his first coherent words since entering the arena, and Yang was once again happy she and Blake had covered Ruby's eyes and ears.

He definitely wasn't in the mood for playing nice. Taking out Cauchermar and turning it into katar mode, he emptied all his ammo on the oncoming Beowolves, just four of them, not stopping even when they fell to the ground, obliterating bushes and entire trees before the weapon clicked empty. With another incoherent roar of anger, he transformed it into a spear and hurled it against a tree before doubling over as he ran out of enemies to kill, screaming as the pain came back a hundredfold.

Even though they had been just a handful of Beowolves, Professor Port decided to allow him to step out of the arena, or rather he allowed Yang to drag him out while barely avoiding being killed by him, and gave the two of them permission to exit the classroom without waiting for the class to end.

Yang had sighed in relief at that. Her plight was almost over.

/-/

"How do you feel now?"

Jaune Arc gave a light shrug in response, not yet trusting himself to speak. His body was glowing softly due to the Aura influx he was guiding through it, but such an action required either experience or focus, and Jaune only had one of those. Any pain or discomfort had slowly faded from his being, leaving him with only a ghost feeling and the occasional cramp flexing his stomach, but nothing more.

"I think this will be enough for today. Remember to do this again tonight, and again tomorrow morning, until your Aura manages to learn and starts doing it without needing your guidance," continued Glynda Goodwitch, sitting on the floor of her office right in front of him, choosing to ditch her modest mahogany desk and her comfortable purple-cushioned chair to remain by her nephew's side. "Now slowly let go of your Aura influx, allow it to return to your core but do not do so too suddenly, or some might accidentally slip free and go to waste. Now, while this isn't a problem here, it's better if you learn not to create wasteful influxes since the start. It's easier than hammering the flaw out later. Again, how are you feeling?"

Jaune shrugged again as his eyes wandered. The office was a familiar sight for him, as he visited Goodwitch quite often, so he knew where to look. Ignoring the picture of him and the woman sitting on the desk, the computer with the same picture as desktop background, and a painting he made when he was ten hung to a wall, his gaze landed on the pile of graded homework on her desk, whose top assignment was marked D-. "Like the owner of that homework is going to feel when you show them their grade," he finally mumbled, pointing at the accused sheet of paper. "I'll live, but I still feel like crap."

The woman pursued her lips before releasing a long sigh. "I never expected to have this conversation with a boy, but the first period is always the worst. For us Aura users, it's also the only one that really hurts, since we quickly learn how to use Aura to prevent pain and discomfort. For those without Aura, periods never get less painful, but they get used to them. It's still horrible, but at least it's not unexpected any more. I'm sure that even if for some reason you run out of Aura and can't use it to prevent the pain, at least you won't try to murder the other students."

"I wasn't gonna murder anyone…"

Glynda cocked an eyebrow and grabbed her laptop, tapping away at it until she brought up a video footage of his fight in Grimm Combat class. "While I'm happy to know you've been improving, so much to be able to take on Grimm barehandedly, with barely the tiniest scratch on your Aura, I have mixed feelings about your brutality. Professor Port even mentioned that some students might need a psychiatrist's help to deal with the trauma, although I am sure he was exaggerating that last part."

Jaune looked down at the floor, avoiding her gaze. "Sorry auntie…"

The woman tried her best to maintain her annoyance, she really did, but she knew she was fighting a losing battle. Placing her laptop back on the desk, she released all her irritation along a sigh, and chose to just let it go. "Don't worry, sweetie, I'm not angry. Just… surprised, I guess. The only thing I do expect is for you to apologize to Ms Xiao Long. She went through hell to help you without humiliating you in front of the entire school, she deserves as much."

Jaune nodded dejectedly. "Yeah… I'll apologize to big sis."

 _'Big sis?'_ Goodwitch repeated in her mind. "You really are into that adoption deal of hers."

"Says the one who already calls me 'Arc Rose Xiao Long', even in class. People are probably gonna think I married Ruby and Yang," Jaune rebutted with a deadpan stare.

"Touché," she conceded lightly. "Speaking of which… the official adoption has unfortunately been rejected as you are too old, and not an orphan. Mr Xiao Long, Ruby and Yang's father, apparently offered you to marry Ruby as a last-resort way to get you in the family. Just so you know."

It wasn't 'just so he knew', of course, but her hidden goals were, as mentioned, _hidden_.

Jaune blushed a lovely shade of cherry that just looked _adorable_ on him, but the woman restrained herself from cooing at him and pinching his cheeks to get them even redder. A secondary reason was because she wasn't sure if they could physically _get_ even redder.

"O-Oh… W-Well, I-I didn't see t-that coming," he admitted, nervously wiping his suddenly sweaty hands on his jeans. "I… uh… that didn't work too, r-right?"

"Oh, no, it worked perfectly. I've been informed that, in a week, I will be able to call Ruby 'Mrs RoseArc', actually," she mentioned off-handedly, watching him widen his eyes and gain a few more shades of red to his blush. She was bluffing, obviously, having _talked it out_ with Taiyang personally. "Even so, I'd like your input on this. What do you think?"

"I think it's far, far, _far_ too soon!" he cried out in shock, eyes so wide they threatened to pop out of their sockets. Had that been the case, she would've just popped them back in place with her Semblance. "I mean, Ruby's a great girl and all but to _marry_ her?! At seventeen?! Without even talking about the fact _she_ is _fifteen_!"

The woman narrowed her eyes as the boy continued to ramble on and on, adding more and more denials and more outrage. She shrugged and took out her Scroll, tapping on it to start recording. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you _like_ her," she interrupted him flatly. "But as you say, there is nothing between the two of you, right?"

"Exactly!"

Goodwitch nodded. "So, no romantic feelings at all. Not even a little bit?"

"Auntie, no! I'd never look at Ruby like that, she's a dear friend!"

She smiled diabolically and tapped the Scroll again, stopping the recording and then holding it up. "I have your words on video, Jaune. Now, unless you want me to send this video straight to Ms Rose, I suggest you speak the truth."

"Send it. I'm sure she feels the same as me," Jaune replied stubbornly.

"I'm sure of that as well, and we're both sure that what you two feel is not what you just stated. Do you really think she wouldn't be hurt by this? Not even a little bit?" Her finger hovered over the icon. "So it won't be a problem if I send this?"

Jaune began to sweat.

Her finger came closer.

His eyes were wide and nervous, fixed on the Scroll as if it was about to come to life and try to kill him.

Her finger was just shy of grazing the icon.

"No!"

Her finger retreated, and her smile widened.

Knowing to have just lost what was probably the most important battle of his teenage years, aside from that one poker match back when he was fourteen, Jaune ran a hand through his hair, his breathing ragged from the anxiety, and looked to the side.

"So," she began, deleting the video and pocketing the Scroll. "You do like her. Since when?"

The poor interrogated boy could only offer a weak shrug. "Since I unlocked her Aura? I mean, she's really nice and she's also _really_ cute. I don't think I actually realized I liked her until the incident at the docks."

"Oh? What happened to make you realize that?"

"Several things. For one, we were talking, and I hugged her, and it was felt nice. Too nice to be normal. I mean, I like hugs from more or less all my friends aside from Nora, but that felt a little _too_ nice. I'm not talking about butterflies or anything, I just liked it." Jaune fidgeted a little, his hands on his lap as he stared at the ground as if guilty of something. "It felt even nicer when she forgave me for tricking people by cheating at dice and cards even though it went right against her morals and ideals. And then I guess I also couldn't help but admire her courage when she helped us fight the man who had killed her. I guess that's it." He looked up and stared at her with despair in his eyes. "I don't know what to do, auntie. If I try to ask her out, I'll make a fool out of myself and I'll ruin everything, that's for sure. I can cheat at any game you want but for the life of me I'm _awful_ with girls! How doomed am I?"

She smirked at him and patted his head. "Very much so, but don't worry, your favourite aunt is here to help you get your girl. Because rest assured, I do want those papers signed one day. And grandnephews and grandnieces. A whole boatload of them."

 ** _Uh-oh... the Witch wants kids to spoil. And for once I'm not talking about Salem._**

 ** _Okay, finally we got the romance blood pumping in this story's veins! As you can see Jaune too likes Ruby, and of course a little bit of blackmail never hurts. So, what is Goodwitch going to have him do to capture his fair maiden's heart?_**

 ** _Simple. Be himself. A dork._**

 ** _Is there a simpler way?_**

 ** _Also, yikes, period sucks. My sister threw a hunting knife at me because I asked her if she needed anything while she was on her first day. Also the pain was bad for her, she really had to curl up, and she often screamed for the pain. Never got better, but she got used to it. And since in canon the girls are always fine, I'm guessing they have found a way to use Aura to cure the pain and discomfort. Besides, the period is just an egg having died and needing to leave the uterus. So, if Aura keeps it alive or something, no need for period._**

 ** _And Roman, like in many humour fics, loves his hat to a level where I might have to tag this [Roman T., Roman T.'s Hat]_**

 ** _With this being out of the way,_**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	20. Dorky Date

_**Whoa, what's this? A new chapter during the period I say I wouldn't be updating anything? Well, guess what, I did! And yes, Ruby and Jaune are going on a date. I mean, I don't see them as ones to tiptoe around the topic. Dense? Yes. But once the Blake's out of the bag? They might be shy, but they'd still be forward.**_

 _ **No, not THAT forward.**_

 _"Here is Orange Four, target is approaching the designed spot. Paste."_

"Here Yellow Six. You're supposed to say 'pass', Orange Four. Confirmed target's approach. Begin countdown, Orange Four. Pass."

 _"Yellow Six, I forgot-"_

"Count down from three hundreds eighty-five, Orange Four. Pass."

 _"…That much? Past."_

"That's six minutes, Orange Four. Now start counting. Pass."

 _"Okay Donkey. Three-eight-five. Three-eight-four. Three-eight-three…"_

Yellow Six sighed and tuned out Orange Four's out-loud counting before facing the other target. "Okay Jaune, she's gonna be here in six minutes. When she does arrive, what are you going to tell her?"

Jaune cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head. "I… forgot?"

"Sweetie, I'm not the one asking her out, so you'd better not having actually forgotten." Glynda Goodwitch sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose when the blond boy nodded shyly. "Okay. You're gonna say hi, first. And then you go with a 'Hey Ruby, are you free to head to Vale today? Maybe we could hit a weapon shop, and a café to avoid having to come back to Beacon to eat. How that sounds?' Any question before I go?"

"No, no I think I'm good." Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat. "Just… are you sure that asking her so directly is the right way?"

"Yes. If you don't ask her, how is she supposed to get the hint?" the woman asked rhetorically. "I am not saying ask her to marry you – not yet anyway. And remember that women like confidence. Not as in 'try until she says yes', but as in 'have the guts to take the initiative'. If she says no, then it's no and you two go back to being friends. But I honestly doubt that'll be the case. Also, Orange Four, you skipped a hundred."

 _"Aww, I was hoping you didn't catch that."_

"I always catch my students' mistakes, Ms Valkyrie," Goodwitch replied smugly before giving Jaune a good-luck kiss on his forehead and walking out of the room – which was Team ARBYL's dorm.

Jaune had never felt so uneasy in the five-beds room. He had never been claustrophobic, but the walls at the moment seemed really eager to close in on him and crush him. His bed, the one he was sitting on, had never felt as hard and uncomfortable as it did now, and despite it being just five in the afternoon, the room already looked dark. It was unbearably hot and shiver-inducing cold at the same time, and Jaune was covered in cold sweat.

Damn it, fighting Grimm was supposed to be the most terrifying thing ever! Not asking out a girl without even involving the word 'date'! Instead, fighting Grimm turned out to be a relaxing game he could play with his friends during their free time, and asking Ruby out was the single most terrifying thing he had any memory of. Sure, there had been that time the car had almost fallen off a bridge, but in hindsight he had been pretty euphoric after the accident, so it hadn't been _that_ bad.

Jaune looked around to try and find some courage. The title Ninjas of Love jumped at his eye from the shelf – not literally of course. Jaune's eyes widened at the sight of the hardcore porn series. Who even read his big sister's books?! Who was the poor soul who had looked too deep into the Abyss, and lost their mind? He quickly considered snatching the book and throwing it out of the window, but with Ruby approaching, he absolutely didn't want to be caught holding that… that… that _thing_. It was filth, pure and unashamed, written by a highly hormonal, sex-deprived, horny sister of his who might've been a nymphomaniac for all he knew, with more smut than words and the most unthinkable and unspeakable of fetishes and positions. Seriously, who even had underwater sex hanging upside down from the burning wreckage of a cruise liner with Grimm sharks -Jaws if he wasn't wrong was the name- trying to join the copulation?! And his sister hadn't even been drunk when she had written that particular scene for Ninjas of Love LXIX: Stranded and Screwed!

No wonder she was called Ciel the Crazy back home.

No, he decided, he'd have to deal with the accursed book later, after the date. He didn't want to think about it, or it would totally ruin the entire day no matter what.

When he heard the door's dorm click open, he drew in a sharp gasp.

"Oh, sorry Jaune, did I scare you?" Ruby asked, entering the room and being met with the sight of him sitting ramrod stiff on his bed. "Were you napping?"

"No! I-I mean, no you d-didn't scare me." Jaune coughed into his fist to clear his voice from the stammer. "Hey Ruby, do you have something to do today?"

"Well, homework, but that can wait the weekend, it's for next week," Ruby shrugged, pointing at the pile of papers that was waiting for her on her desk.

"Right…" nodded the boy, unconvinced. He was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to finish, and he'd have to help her out. Again. He cringed when he realized the double meaning of his thoughts. "O-Okay, then w-would you mind coming to Vale w-with me?"

Ruby froze slightly, a light stiffening of her muscles that didn't go unnoticed by the boy, who immediately began to panic. "I-I mean, I-I know you like weapons so maybe we could go to a weapon shop and since going with friends is always better than going alone I-I thought to offer a-and it's not like I-I planned for this well yes I did but this is not a date or anything we're just going as friends but it's not that I don't like you it's that-"

"Jaune?"

"It's not that you're not nice and cute 'cause you are but we're friends so it'd be weird no wait that's what Nora says I don't want to be like Nora it's just that-" Jaune shut up after he realized his name had just been called by the girl he had just made a fool out of himself in front of, and promptly fixed his gaze on the accursed book that was taunting him from the bookshelf. "Uhh…"

"I'd… I'd r-really like to g-go out w-with you," she stammered slightly, blushing as red as her namesake and looking away as well. "N-Not as a-a date, j-just as f-friends of course!"

"Y-Yeah…"

"R-Right…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Do we have to be…"

"… _only_ friends?"

The two's eyes met shyly, both dichromatic and both trying to convey a message mere words couldn't convey.

As it turned out, their optic conversational skills were just as bad as their social ones, because eventually they had to resort to words again. It must be said to their credit, though, that they did try to tell the other how they felt through their eyes.

"More than friends?" Jaune offered slowly.

"More than friends," Ruby confirmed shyly.

A second of silence fell over them.

Then Jaune offered her his hand to take. "Let's go, then?"

"L-Let's go."

/-/

 _"Here Orange Four. Mission accomplished, Yellow Six. Pall."_

 _"It's pass. Here Yellow Six, confirmed end of mission. The mission was a success. Pass."_

 _"Yes Yellow Six, we did good. Parse."_

 _"It's still pass, Orange Four, and you can expect an A+ on your next three tests. Pass."_

 _"Yay! Thank you Professor Six! Bass and boop!"_

 _"It's… ugh, why do I even bother. Good job Ora- Orange Four? Orange Four?"_

 _"…"_

 _"…Good job anyway."_

/-/

The trip to Vale was one made up mostly of awkward silence and half-hearted attempts at conversation. Both teens were the perfect image of 'on a date but too embarrassed and shy to act like it' and 'actually looking forward to the date even though they have no idea what people do on dates.'

The two of them exited the Bullhead and stepped onto Valean ground, and nothing world-shaking happened. By then, they would've been glad for an ice-breaker such as a good old terrorist attack. Or maybe a Grimm invasion. Alas, the two teens were unlucky, and it was a perfectly normal day for Vale. Had they gone much, _much_ more up North, in Atlas, they would've stumbled into a sneezing Roman Torchwick freeing Faunus miners from the Schnee Dust Company's mineshafts, but in Vale everything was calm.

"So," Jaune began uneasily, wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans, and then again for good measure. "Shall we?"

"We shall," Ruby nodded nervously as the two of them took off for the weapon shop they had decided to visit.

The new couple reached a VNDT shop, of the Valean National Dust Trade company, to try and find something of their interest – like the newest or oddest types of Dust. Mixing Dust was a career that often ended with fatal results, but the few times the mixes were actually useful, the inventor would become rich, so there were many Dust mixers always trying to invent new Dust. Because of that, you never knew when the newest Dust crystals would come out, and they were often unique.

Ruby had been absolutely livid when she had missed the Candy Dust crystals they had, the shards having been bought a mere quarter of hour before her arrival at the shop. Or before that, when Yang had only been able to buy a single Vibrator Dust – and Ruby only now knew what that was supposed to do.

The girl stalked into the shop with a purpose – and for once, it wasn't actually _buying_ new Dust crystals. No, that was a task that would need to wait until they were alone, only her and the Dust. Today, she was there with her boy- no no no, with Jaune! No need for treacherous words just yet. She was there with Jaune. And with Jaune, there was one thing she just _had_ to do.

Showing off.

Now, don't get her wrong, Ruby was a very humble girl, and she hated showing off just as much as she hated being 'special'. She just had normal knees, normal elbows, normal joints! No need for having an insect's joints, after all. She was the picture of normalcy, in her head. However, she was also a girl on a date with a boy she liked, and because of that she decided she'd have to make an exception. She'd need to show Jaune just how right he was at choosing her, just how good she was, and she'd need to show off to do that.

She immediately dragged Jaune off to show him the most peculiar types of Dust, waiting only for one question…

"Uhh… Ruby? What's the difference between Vampire Dust and Vampiric Dust?" Jaune asked, puzzled, looking at the two equally blackish-violet crystals.

Bingo.

"Ohh, they're similar in name but they're _so_ different. Vampire Dust is used to drain wandering Aura and replenish your own. Like, whenever you use your Aura for something more than defence or enhancement, like for a Semblance, part of the Aura you use 'wanders' away from your body, like it does for my Semblance, forming rose petals. Vampire Dust can absorb that wandering Aura and replenish your own with it, though it's usually next to insignificant amounts, only good against people whose Aura waste output is massive," she explained, pointing to the darker crystal on the left. "Vampiric Dust, instead, has nothing to do with Aura. Well, kinda. It drains your own Aura to use it. It can drain other Dust's powers though! It has a limit to how much it can drain, but otherwise using Vampiric Dust is the best way to disarm a Dust bomb. Aura-protected Dust, like weaponry, can't be influenced though, and that's why Vampiric Dust is not used by Hunters. With a single Vampiric Dust crystal you could drain over fifty times its size's worth of any kind of Dust. If you try to drain more, it explodes, though. Drained Dust becomes simple Energy Dust – the quartz-like one. They can be still used as energy channels or to improve Aura channelling performance in weapons and such, but otherwise have no power of their own. A fully used Vampiric Dust crystal is usually re-used, making it explode to produce energy, though I am not sure about that part."

Jaune looked down at her, at the sheer love and interest in her voice, and sighed. For her sake, he would try to keep up with a topic she so adored, but boy if that wasn't a strenuous task. Seriously, who ever thought that naming two Dust types, so different in use and effect, so similarly, was a good idea? Hadn't it been for Ruby, he wouldn't have known where to start telling the difference…

Okay, the Vampire Dust was slightly darker than Vampiric Dust, but hell, that wasn't enough of a difference!

"Okay, what about those two? Seem Fire Dust to me even though neither is tagged like that," he asked, pointing at two flame-coloured crystals off to the side.

A second later, he was standing in front of the case, with a serious case of instant motion sickness. Ruby shot him an apologetic look when he groaned. "S-Sorry, I kinda forgot not everyone's used to my Semblance's speed."

"No big deal…"

"So! Oh, these are a Creeping Death Dust crystal and an Aura Fire Sphere Dust crystal," she explained easily, making him blink. "Both are actually just Auric Fire Dust crystals, but they have been heavily modified to only work this way. Normally, any good Aura user with an Auric Dust crystal can move the fire and mould it to their desires. These enable amateurs to use advanced techniques with little to no experience. Though, and this is a secret, they don't actually work," she confided him, leaning closer to whisper in his ear- no okay, in his shoulder actually, but that was just the difference in height. "The Creeping Death Dust just makes the fire much lower to the ground and shorter-lived. Basically just a weaker Fire Dust crystal. The Aura Fire Sphere Dust makes a spheric fireball and nothing else, again something a normal Fire Dust crystal can do."

"Then why are they here at all if they're useless?" Jaune asked.

"Because they're different. They're new Dust types even though they're useless, so they have to be documented and listed as Dust types. I mean, if people wanted efficiency over variety, there'll only be one type of weapon. Spear, the first weapon ever. Or sword and shield, still pretty basic. But people want variety, and this Dust types give them variety." Hadn't it been delivered with Ruby's usual cheer and childishness, it would've been a lecture-worthy speech on how humanity preferred variety and personal preferences over usefulness. As it was, Jaune just smiled lopsidedly and pointed to the adjacent case.

"Okay, now what's that crystal?"

Ruby turned to look at the nondescript grey crystal, and her face immediately went crimson at the sight of a Vibrator Dust crystal. Dammit, those were supposed to have all been sold! "That's nothing!" she squealed, dragging her date to another case. "I'm not even sure of what it does exactly, must be new!"

Like hell she was gonna tell him what it actually was!

"Let's focus on other stuff! Better stuff! Like this… this speck of dirt right here! It has a weird shape, doesn't it?"

"Looks just like dirt to me…"

"Well then, what do _you_ want to focus on?" she huffed, pouting. That speck of dirt was infinitely better than explaining what Vibrator Dust was!

Jaune shrugged. "Dunno. We just got here. Let's just take a look around. Actually, now that I think of it, if you're still up to teaching me mechashift weaponmaking, why don't we take a look at the weapons and you can tell me something about how they're made?"

Ruby exhaled deeply. Disaster avoided. Now, unless some pervert had made a weapon with a Vibrator function, she was in safe waters. She-

"Oh my gosh there's the newest plasma Tesla coil gun with an added bubbleshooter feature!"

/-/

Roman Torchwick spat to the ground, watching as the spit splattered on a rock and quickly lost heat, that resulted in a damn fast transformation into ice. The criminal himself would've probably frozen over, hadn't he been covered in what felt like a ton of rugs, but was actually just a heavy Atlasian winter jacket. The fashionable thief hated it. Hadn't it been for that damn cold, he would've been able to wear his favourite trench coat and bowler hat. As it was, he was buried alive under a mountain of heavy cloth in the vain hope to keep warm.

"Hurry up!" he mumble-yelled at his men, who were advancing in the snow with a huge group of newly-freed Faunus they had _borrowed_ from the SDC's mines. For the first time in a very _long_ time, Roman felt pity for those animals. Most of them were starved at best, underweight by some _dozens_ of pounds, the bones clearly visible for the world to see. His men had fortunately taken more winter wear with them, or those miners wouldn't even have made it out of the mines.

Even as it was, they were probably going to lose a few of them.

Roman Torchwick sighed and watched as his breath misted in front of him. Atlas was a frozen hell like no other. All that technology to make robots and androids, and then they still used slave-like live employees in the mines, places so inhuman even the weathered criminal felt sick. And they locked _children_ in them with the whole lot of the family.

He might've been a criminal, even a murderer, but he drew a line at purposeful and aggravated torture, and those mines were nothing short of that. While scouting them out, he had even found a rod sporting the brand of the SDC – near an unlit fireplace. It didn't take a genius to guess what that was used for.

The criminal shook such thoughts out of his head. As it was, it was useless to think about the past, and it wasn't like he was going to change Atlas's politics anytime soon. Not soon, not ever, if he had any say in it. And not even Vale's politics, he wasn't gonna change a damn anything in politics, anywhere!

"Ugh, this cold must be getting to me," he groaned, halting that train of thoughts before it could go any further. "How long until we get to our ship?"

The White Fang grunt - _'Idiot,'_ Roman was quick to amend his own thoughts- squinted ahead before shrugging. "Not long, boss. We should get there before nightfall."

"Of course we're gonna get there before nightfall!" Torchwick exclaimed. "What kind of idiot would leave the airship so far from the mines we were robbing?!"

"S-Sorry, I just always wanted to say that…" the man beside him apologized. "Also, we were attacking the mines to free the prisoners, not robbing them, I think?"

"Oh, yeah, old habits die hard."

/-/

"So… did you like the movie?"

Jaune pursued his lips as he thought about the answer. The two of them were walking side by side after visiting the Cinema Ross and watching the newest Grimm Blood movie. It was ninth movie of that series, though the third was actually a remake of the first, so the one they had just watched was Grimm Blood VIII instead of Grimm Blood IX. The first movie had been pretty good, the second decent and the remake _very_ good. The third… and fourth… and fifth…

"Dunno. I mean, I really like the series, and the actors are good, but… dunno… it lacked plot, y'know?" She gave a light shrug in agreement. "I mean, animations and special effects and everything is still top-notch, but the plot feels… rehearsed. I mean, it's always the same thing. It's been eight movies and the plot is always the same. Verity is living happily with her girlfriend, then something awful happens and Verity's Grimm nature is discovered by a shady organization. Verity's girlfriend is kidnapped, and Verity has to become Darkglint again to save her and kick the organization's ass. Changing the names isn't gonna change the plot. By now they should've run out of shady organizations."

"So… did you like it or not?" asked Ruby, confused. "I mean, I'm with you on that, they should add something new, but I still think it's pretty good, right?"

"It is indeed, though I wish they hadn't done that whole thing with Verity's girlfriend having been injected with Grimm so suddenly, you know? I mean, last time we see her she's in a cell, the next Verity has to fight her when she goes insane for the Grimm. It's kinda cheap," shrugged Jaune. "Other than the usual plot and that yeah, it was a pretty good movie. No wasted money, at least. Speaking of which, we're kinda low on money…"

"Sorry, I didn't think of bringing any money with me… kinda too excited for that." Ruby glared down at her skirt. "Plus girls pockets are the _worst_. I mean, they can barely hold my Scroll without dropping it every two minutes!"

"Heh, that's why Hunters should have something called 'casual wear' to avoid the discomfort to have too combat-oriented clothes," smirked Jaune, grinning more when she stuck her tongue at him. "Look, I got some money, but I'm _really_ low on it. If we want to have lunch out and be able to go back to Beacon by Bullhead, well… I know of a way to get money… and it _is_ kinda legal… but I'm not sure if you'd appreciate."

Ruby narrowed her eyes at him. "Gambling?"

"Gods no!" exclaimed Jaune. "Heck, gambling is when _you_ don't even _touch_ anything! That's just the perfect way to lose your money! I was thinking more like some dice game at a casino, or a card game. Like… poker sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"

Ruby's eyes narrowed more as she grumbled.

Her stomach also grumbled.

At Jaune's smirk, she blushed and looked away. "Traitorous belly…" she complained as her date dragged her off to the Xiong Casino, one located just beside the biggest and most famous club in Vale, appropriately called The Club. Hei 'Junior' Xiong was the owner of both locals, and the two buildings were also actually linked together to form one single complex, though they had separate names and businesses.

The walk didn't take long, ten minutes at most, as they were already in the more… flashy part of Vale, full of cinemas, clubs, shops, restaurants and all of that. Even a bowling hall or two. To tell the truth, Ruby didn't even know what many of those big, flashy names actually meant, having never really been a city girl obsessed with going out with friends and as such not really acquainted with that part of Vale.

The Xiong Casino looked every bit of her social nightmare. Blazing lights and blaring music, with dozens of tables and different games and a bar separated from the one in The Club just for the casino, it made her feel dizzy and not at all in the good way Jaune did, but in a very bad way, a pulsing headache just behind her eyes that she couldn't really place – not that she wanted to. There were also lots and lots of people. Most of them were just normal people, or even polite-looking ones, but some of them had an obvious 'bad guy' vibe coming off them that didn't really mix well with her anxiety. And then there were the teenagers who thought that gambling and stuff would make them look cool, and she could perfectly feel their eyes on her and Jaune the moment they entered. Both being Hunter trainees, they could be considered close to models for a normal civilians. Thankfully, the teenagers didn't think trying to start chatting with either of them was worth their time, and quickly returned to their game.

Ruby exhaled softly. Maybe common belief was wrong, and it wasn't like entering a place like that was a sure way to get harassed, especially if the newcomer was a young girl who was at least decent in the looks department.

"Hey kid, this ain't a place for dilly-dallying, so either play or scram!" The harsh grumble tore her from her thoughts, and she paled when she saw Jaune standing right beside some of the baddest-looking people in the whole locals. She wasn't the only one to be surprised, as some other players and even a couple of the indecently underdressed dancers were staring at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"I'll play, just let me sit down first, asshole," scoffed Jaune, making Ruby's eyes go wide. Jaune wasn't really someone to be rude to people, and much less someone who would swear. "Hey Ruby, come over. Don't wanna have to keep an eye on you."

She shyly obeyed and moved closer before sitting on a chair one of the men oddly politely offered her.

"She plays too?" gruffly asked the one currently holding the dice.

"Nah, she's with me, but just to watch," grumbled Jaune, taking out his money and putting it on the table. "Now get your ass moving and throw those fucking dice, I ain't got all day."

"Jeez, playing in a hurry ain't a good way to win, y'know?" scoffed the man, a thin and not unpleasant-looking brunette with green eyes and a light stubble. As Ruby looked around, she realized that all the people at that table were, aside from their gruff expressions and scowls, normal people. People she'd forget as soon as they were out of sight if she met them on the streets. Weren't they supposed to look _bad?_

"Just hurry up and throw," snapped the blond, and Ruby found herself staring at him. Just like the others, he too still looked like normal Jaune but… his expression had changed. There was a lackadaisical air of carelessness and a grumpy frown on his face, so unlike his normal cheerful, goofy smile. There was also some sort of feel of _danger_ hovering around him, an antisocial and reclusive atmosphere that made her want to put some space between herself and the boy.

He was _hot_.

Ruby definitely preferred cute and goofy Jaune over hot Jaune.

Not to get her wrong, it wasn't like she couldn't appreciate hot Jaune, but that wasn't Jaune. That was just something he pretended to be while cheating at dice.

Her eyes went wide. Jaune wasn't planning on cheating with guys like _those_ , right?! The third one from her left even looked like someone with combat training! They'd be _so_ doomed. She didn't want her first date to end up with both at the hospital, Yang, Dad, Uncle Qrow and Ms Goodwitch on a savage manhunt, and the whole day ruined.

"It'll be okay," Jaune whispered to her, and she allowed herself to relax a little.

Then Jaune threw the dice.

Six. Six. Six. Six.

Like hell they hadn't noticed he had just cheated.

Shockingly, no one said anything, and Jaune just collected all the money with a smug little grin on his face. Again, it wasn't like she couldn't appreciate it, but she preferred his wide, happy smile rather than that confident, arrogant smirk. It shouldn't have been sitting on his face.

Round after round, Jaune continued to win and lose, though win mostly, and soon they had more than enough money to go on another dozen dates. Ruby's nerves became frailer and frailer with each winning, but the other guys didn't seem to care. Heck, they were even openly smiling, and even _chuckling_ , as if losing dozens of Lien to a kid who looked barely of the legal age was something extremely funny.

Eventually, Jaune decided to spare them and quit. However, before he could actually stand up, a hand whipped out and grabbed his wrist. Ruby's hands went for her scythe, but of course she didn't have it. Her beloved Crescent Rose was still in Beacon, in her locker, waiting for her return.

"You're a good player, kid," the man said, releasing him once his attention was grabbed. "I really hope you'll show up again. You got a fucking lot of skill at dice."

"It ain't the only skill I've got," smirked Jaune. "Maybe poker next time? I've been itching for some good rounds for months."

"Sure, why not," laughed the man, and the others soon joined in. "But gotta warn you, kid, I'm _really_ good at poker. Hope you don't live far, 'cause I'm gonna leave you in your boxers."

"You're really eager to see me in my underwear, huh? I guess I can't refuse such an offer." Ruby had to clamp a hand over her mouth to avoid making a sound. She didn't know if she should've started to scream, gasp, squeak or anything else. That was.. that was _definitely_ not Jaune-like!

The man only laughed harder. "Sorry kid, I'm already taken. Plus you look underage, too risky. But, if you want to have a good time after you grow up a little…"

The man left the offer hanging, and Jaune didn't bother replying as he dragged his date out of the casino.

Only after a couple of roadblocks had gone by, Ruby managed once more to form a coherent sentence. "What the hall was that?!" she exclaimed, automatically censuring her own words. It wasn't something she'd usually do, but after hearing Jaune talk like that… she felt unclean.

"That? That was a show of skill," shrugged Jaune, patting his pocket. "And I won."

"How didn't they notice you were cheating?!" she whisper-yelled, trying not to attract too much attention from the people nearby. It was past three in the afternoon, so there weren't a lot of people around, but it never hurt to be careful.

"Of course they did, but so were they. That's why it was a show of skill," explained Jaune. "It all come down to the fact that we were trying to see who the best cheater was. And I won."

Ruby face-faulted.

 ** _Oh gosh last time I checked the word count, it was slightly over 3.4 and now it's over 5... that's a good thing, I guess._**

 ** _Honestly... I don't know what to say aside from news on the romance, so I'll just go directly to that._**

 ** _So, romance status: dating. At chapter 20. I told you I hated to beat around the bush. Had I left it to just Jaune and Ruby, yes it would've taken forever, but with Auntie Glyn and Nora? No way. There's not dilly-dallying for those two. Of course, this does not mean now Ruby and Jaune are madly in love, forever linked by the bond of True Love._**

 ** _None of that bullshit._**

 ** _They're dating, yeah. Nothing wrong with that. Not a very big deal, and not important plotwise, but an interesting addition._**

 ** _And poor Roman... the weather is so cruel with him..._**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	21. Back to Crazy

**_Seven days since last update, almost a month since this story's last update. Nightmares every f***ing night, work, translation and proofreading, sickness and overall lots of tiredness. Due to all this... late update._**

"S-So, did you enjoy today?" Ruby asked nervously as they walked through Beacon's corridors, their little date almost over.

"Y-Yeah, I really did… w-we should do this again sometimes…" Jaune replied just as nervously. "I-I mean… i-if you want of course…"

"Yes!" She blushed when he recoiled from her shout. "S-Sorry, it's just… I don't want you to think I'd refuse. Cheating at dice aside, I really enjoyed today…"

The two of them walked for a bit more, passing several other students wandering through the halls. With it being a cool but serene Monday, most had chosen not to waste the day staying indoors, instead playing outside or just relaxing in the gardens, thus the young duo didn't have to face the curious and inquisitive stares of their classmates as they made their way back to their dorm. Only third or fourth years were still in the school buildings, probably too busy to enjoy a day off, those poor souls.

The only duo who had acknowledged how close they were walking was a couple of third years. The two boys were a known kickass-yet-sweet couple in Beacon, and they hadn't hesitated to congratulate the two of them for getting together – much to their embarrassment. Worst of all, both boys had nodded knowingly when they'd tried to explain how they weren't a couple yet, walking away with identical grins on their faces.

"So… wanna go out again next Monday?" Jaune asked after a while, when no student was in sight any more. "Or what about the one after that? I've heard they're gonna set up an amusement park in Vale King's Park. We could drop by and see what there is to do."

"That sounds fun!" nodded Ruby. She'd never go to an amusement park on her own, too many people, but with someone it seemed like something they'd both enjoy… as long as there were no rollercoasters – which she usually enjoyed, but that maybe weren't the best choice since Jaune wasn't good with moving at high speed. Still, there were a lot of other things to do at an amusement park.

"Great. Now, as long as we don't do something stupid and get detention, it's set!" grinned the boy. "And even if we do get detention, I'm sure Auntie Glyn is gonna be fine with letting us off the hook once or twice."

"Being the Deputy Headmistress's nephew is just cheating…"

"What? No! I'm making full use of what resources I have!" he protested with a pout. "It's not like I-"

 _"No! I won't allow this! Not in my room! Not in our dorm!"_

Yang's voice interrupted him and, from the sounds of it, it seemed like things were getting pretty heated and angry. While Yang by herself wasn't a really calm person, neither of them saw her as someone who would yell like that at her friends. Whatever it was, it had to be incredibly serious.

The two of them exchanged a glance before rushing forth and quickly reaching their dorm's door, the origin of the noises. Wrenching it open -after unlocking it with their Scrolls of course-, they took in the scene before their eyes.

There was Yang, hair aflame and eyes of a murderous crimson, facing off an irate Blake with her cat ears flat against her scalp. Sky, the one who normally tried to avoid any kind of direct confrontation, was siding with Yang, glaring disapprovingly at the cat Faunus. The dorm was thankfully still intact, and the only things out of place were a few books. Yang was currently holding one, waving it around too fast for them to catch the title, while Blake was hugging a whole pile of books with similar covers to her chest, the angle at which they were not allowing them to see their titles either – though Jaune had a sinking sensation he knew what those books were.

"I'm gonna burn every single one of these!" Yang yelled furiously, almost shouting in Blake's face with how much she was leaning forwards. "I won't stop until they are all ashes in the wind!"

"Why are you so upset anyway?! They're my books, not yours!" Blake retorted in a hiss, clutching said volumes closer. "You don't have to read them!"

"Blake, be reasonable. If you're into that kind of literature, fine, but at least buy some better books. Those are just a waste of paper!" Sky exclaimed, exasperated. "Seriously, we're doing a favour to your mind by destroying them! Come back to sanity!"

"You're the insane ones!" Blake shrieked. "This is art!"

"Ruby, you know what?" Jaune began uneasily. "Let's go on another date. Like, right now. I'm sure they have all very important… Ruby? Ruby?" He turned to where the crimsonette had been not three seconds prior, only to find a coloured silhouette in her place. Looking around, he saw her standing behind Blake, with a book in her hand. Open. And she was looking at it. Reading it. "NO! SOMEBODY STOP HER!"

Too late. It was too late. Jaune closed his eyes, tears already threatening to spill at the horrible sight before him.

" _-the ninja strongly rammed his sword into her sheathe, uncaring of how it moulded around his tool as he forced every inch of it inside, right down to the very hilt, before it finally hit his scabbard's limit, and released warm and sweet milk inside of it._ " Ruby's eyes rose from the book and glanced at Blake. "Seriously? Everyone knows swords can't produce milk. And this 'ninja' must be really silly if he's trying to sheathe a sword into a sheath that's not its own. That would just ruin both the sword and the scabbard."

The room was deathly silent as Yang marched over to her sister and swiftly removed the accursed book from her pure hands before tossing it at Sky and gently embracing her sister as tears fell from her eyes. "I almost lost you…"

Ruby blinked in confusion.

Blake was rigid, staring at her books in horror, realizing the enormity of her faux pas. She had almost allowed their sweet Ruby to be corrupted. Looking up to Sky and Jaune, she saw no mercy in their eyes. Nothing would be spared in order to remove the taint, and if she were to step between the corruption and the purifiers… she wasn't sure their friendship would protect her from their ire.

/-/

The courtyard was silent aside from the light shuffling of feet and the soft crackling of fire. Oh, and the muted screams of a certain bookworm catgirl who was currently tied up, gagged, and with a sign saying 'Sinner' hanging from her neck. The spot was quite a bit away from the places the students liked to visit, a quiet corner of Beacon's gardens they had found thanks to Ren, who liked to meditate there whenever he had free time.

A light plume of smoke and ashes rose from the middle of said corner, as the cleansing flames consumed the corruption. Several piles of books were still awaiting their turn on the pyre, as no one could rush redemption, and the three purifiers were standing by the Accursed Ones, guarding them as to prevent any corrupted soul to attempt to stop the ritual. An untainted soul watched over the burning books, purity and innocence still adorning her features as her spirit remained blissfully unaware of the corruption blazing in front of her.

"Uhh… guys? Why are we burning Blake's books?" Ruby asked, awkwardly fidgeting with the pearly white outfit they had borrowed from Weiss. "She doesn't look too happy about it…"

"Don't worry Ruby, Yang and Sky won't take too long," Jaune shrugged beside her, wearing a long priest's robe, white with golden motifs of swirls and spirals. "As for Blake, we're actually doing her a favour. We're burning her books so she'll have room on the shelves to buy others, but since she'd never sell, give away, or destroy her books, we had to take initiative – and since we didn't want her to try and get the books back if we sold them, we chose for the quickest and most definitive way."

"And the chant Yang and Sky are intoning?" continued Ruby.

"Propitiatory. Since we're gonna buy her new books as apology, they're asking the spirits of these books to help us find good books for Blake," he explained without missing a beat. "Also, they like to be melodramatic."

"Yeah, Yang totally would…"

The two of them continued to watch as Yang and Sky, still chanting and swaying, burned book after book. At some point, Blake fell asleep, having probably cried herself into exhaustion. Someone had to have noticed the slowly raising smoke, but strangely enough no one came to bother them. Probably Goodwitch's doing, Jaune decided, though it could've been anything, really. Maybe some student had actually gone as far as investigate the smoke, only to crawl away once the sight of their purifying ritual had been imprinted in their weak minds. Or maybe it was too much of a nice day for anyone to be bothered to check.

"And what's with the sign?" Ruby asked, pointing at Blake.

"Uhh… Ruby, do you remember the small paragraph about sexual perversions in the articles I had you read?"

"Yes, I… oh."

"Oh indeed. Though like with Velvet, no discriminating."

"No no no!" Ruby hurried to clarify herself. "I wasn't going to – I was just surprised, that's all I swear!"

"Don't worry, I understand," Jaune nodded reassuringly. "I had a similar reaction when I discovered it too."

"Yeah…" Ruby trailed off, not really knowing what to say any more. They had all solid reasons for doing that, for crying out loud! And if Blake was into that… she might not agree with her tastes but who was she to condemn her? "That's gonna be awkward…"

"Definitely." Jaune glanced at the long pile of books still to go -Blake had four copies of every volumes, unfortunately, hidden around the room for emergencies- and sighed. It was surely gonna be awkward to be in the same room as Blake for a while – awkward, and potentially deadly.

/-/

"What do we do?"

The afternoon air was still fresh despite the sun, and the smell of smoke travelled unhindered up to their noses. The four figures laid stomach down on the top of a nearby building, looking down at the odd scene below them.

"Simple. We take as many pictures and videos as we can," Cardin Winchester grinned as he took out his Scroll and angled the camera downwards while increasing the zoom. "This is how we get our revenge, guys. I want pics and videos of the whole thing, then pics and videos of each of them individually, and if you can get any really embarrassing pics, even better. Also, Russel, stop looking at Xiao Long's tits. You know you'll go blind otherwise."

"S-Sorry Cardin. Just… admiring the view from up here."

"I get it, but focus! Also, your pants aren't baggy enough and it's gross to stay beside you when you have a boner."

"Sorry…"

"Stop apologizing and start blackmailing, for Dust's sake!" Cardin gave a long-suffering sigh. "Saber, how is Dove?"

"Still kind of foaming at the mouth," came the bored reply from the last member of their team, the black-haired student laying down next to a beige-haired boy tied up and gagged. "Just how much does he love those books?"

"It doesn't matter – those aren't even _his_ copies of that stuff. Saber, take pics and videos too instead of wasting your time." Cardin rolled his eyes at Dove, who was still trying to wrestle free of the rope they had tied him up with. "I'd send you to keep watch for other students, but I guess you'd just rush to save those books, wouldn't you?"

Dove's muffled screams were all the answers he needed.

/-/

Weiss sighed as Nora continued to whisper excitedly about conspiracies and demonic rituals as their team stealthily observed Team ARBYL burning some 'Ninjas of Love' books. Not like any of them knew what they were, though, they had only managed to catch the title of a couple and assumed it was a series. Why the five of them had decided to burn some books, and in such a preposterous manner, was beyond her comprehension, but eventually it didn't matter. Despite being the leader, Weiss knew there was no dragging Nora away from the rooftop they were hiding on.

"Why would they do that…" Ren mumbled pensively, frowning at the spectacle going on down below. "And why did they have to tie Blake up? Was she against the idea? If so, then why are they doing it anyway? Is something special about those books?"

"Or maybe Blakey played a prank on them and now they're getting revenge by burning all her most precious possessions!" Nora whisper-yelled beside him. "It makes perfect sense!"

"It could've, had the rest of her team been cruel and overly vengeful," Weiss replied tiredly. "But knowing them, something extreme must've happened. Pyrrha, why don't you go and ask them?"

"Me? But… weren't you on the same team as Jaune before?"

"Yes, but you were on the same team as Yang, Sky and Blake… so you'd be the best choice to approach them."

"I'm not sure we should… ahem… approach them at the moment." Pyrrha coughed and flushed embarrassedly when Weiss sent her a pointed look. "It's just that they don't look like they'd welcome newcomers. It'd be rude to interrupt them, wouldn't it?"

"Maybe it would, but then again they are being rude themselves. I mean, burning those books while Blake is obviously against the idea, and even forcing her to watch as they do… that does border on cruelty." Weiss adopted a coy smile. "And besides, weren't you the one who wanted to make friends? You never deny Nora's statements."

"B-But we are already their friends, aren't we?" Pyrrha looked around for help, but found none. "I mean, there's no need to disturb them, isn't it?"

"Pyrrha Nikos, are you backing down from a challenge?"

"…yes."

/-/

Roman Torchwick was definitely in dire need of a long, relaxing vacation in the solitary peaks of Mistral, where no soul would've come to bother him with stupid tasks and damn death threats. The thief nursed a coffee in his right hand and his cigar dangled loosely from his left index and middle finger, the latter of which he was really tempted to show Cinder. Of course, he knew the woman was a ticking bomb that was ready to go off at the minimum provocation – which was probably why he so enjoyed making it out alive from all their meetings.

"Animals, saved. Dust, taken. Trip back, over. White Fang, resupplied. Idolization, attained. Roman Torchwick, still alive. Was anything else on your list?" he snarked with his usual cheekiness.

The woman before him regarded him with a look he wasn't sure whether it was amused, sensual, or calculating. With Cinder, sometimes it was really hard to tell. Especially when her death threats were delivered with a voice that never failed to leave him pitching a tent. "You did good, Roman. Better than I expected." The criminal mastermind wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult, to tell the truth. Considering who was speaking, probably the latter. Cinder had never really been a fan of giving out compliments. "But… there is still something you could do for me – something I'm sure you will greatly enjoy."

"Ugh… no one likes more work," grumbled the man, trying to take a sip from his cigar before inhaling his coffee. A coughing fit and some serious observation of the two objects in his hands later, he continued. "That's kinda why I got an organization instead of doing the job myself."

"You will enjoy this, trust me." Not a chance in Hell, but of course he wasn't gonna tell her that. He just nodded submissively. "I want you to find out a few things about a few people."

"Huh?"

"Three Huntresses in training. Yang Xiao Long, she wrecked Hei Xiong's club and got away with it almost scot-free. Blake Belladonna, from how you said she addressed the White Fang, she's an ex-terrorist. And Ruby Rose – a student who's been accepted into Beacon almost a week after the start of the school, and who has been declared dead a few days before being accepted, currently being in the only five-people team of the whole Academy."

Roman blinked. "Uh… I can definitely do that, but what should I do?"

"Get some dirt on them, and then snitch to the news. Make people talk. Make people _know_ what kind of people they have as their defenders. Those three are on the same team, so it's even better. Point out how they have a five-people team, only them. For the other two, you can either paint them as victims or shovel dirt on them as well, your choice." Cinder smiled malignly, malice glowing in her eyes. "For Xiao Long, you can make some of Xiong's men speak. For Belladonna, have some White Fang tell everyone she was one of them and is now hiding her past."

"That ribbon certainly wasn't fashion choice," he mumbled in agreement. Then he clapped his hands -spilling coffee all over his new suit, but that was a small price to pay for his happiness- and grinned at the woman. "Can do. I'll go wild on this, I really needed some long overdue stress relief, and if sex's not available, I'll go for the next best thing. I'll have to bring a new TV in here though, I _need_ the best to watch how the news are gonna eviscerate them."

"But be careful with what you reveal," Cinder admonished – uselessly, he might add, since he was the criminal mastermind and she was just his boss. "Do not make it look like you're hiding stuff, but don't give out anything that could make them look redeeming. Twist their actions to make them look bad. Blame them for everything you can."

"Basically, shovel a boatload of bullshit on them and snitch to the news," nodded the criminal. "Sure thing. Do I have a deadline?"

"I'd appreciate if you could hurry up – even tomorrow if it's possible. But if you can't, you have until the next step of my plan has to be set into motion," explained the dangerous woman, carelessly inspecting her nails. "Can you do this?"

"Of course I can. I'm gonna have the time of my life!"

Cinder smiled slightly and turned around to exit the room. Before she was even at the doorstep, Torchwick already had his Scroll out – not a burner Scroll, his _actual_ work Scroll. By the time the woman was out of view, he was at his third beep.

Junior answered at the seventh.

 _"I'm gonna stick a bazooka up your ass and fire you absolute-"_

"It's good to hear you didn't have my Scroll number yet, Junior. At least some of my secrets are still safe," Torchwick commented mirthfully.

 _"…Torchwick?"_

"The one and only. The real deal. Yours truly. Take your pick for the introduction." Roman took a puff from his cigar. "Listen, do you remember that time a blonde chick smashed your club?"

 _"Yes I do, I'm still still finding cracks everywhere. What about it?"_

"Well, I need as much dirt on her as you can find, and I will also need some of your men to speak to the news and tell everyone about the incident. Also, find me everything about Blake Belladonna and Ruby Rose. Those three are all on the same team at Beacon. And while you're at it, find what you can of the rest of the team too, just in case. Think you're up to it?"

 _"To get revenge, anything. Though don't expect a discount, I still have many costs to pay."_

"Perfect. It was a pleasure making affairs with you."

Torchwick cut the call and sighed contently. It had been a shit week, but finally things seemed to be looking up again. Or well, partly. At least it was better than lazying around or going to Atlas to save some animals. Speaking of which… "Terry!"

A few seconds later, a disgruntled-looking Faunus with small antlers on his head entered the room. "It's Perry…"

"Sure thing, Merry. How are the miners? All cheering my name, hopefully?"

"They're sleeping at the moment, and no they aren't going to cheer your name," the man explained wearily. "Most of them agreed to join the White Fang, but a few just want to be free."

"Ungrateful little mongrels," mumbled Torchwick. "Oh well. How's the Dust?"

"Not much, and still being organized."

"Ugh, why do you always have to bring such bad news, Derry?" He cut off the man before he could protest. "I got something else for you. We have to handle an interview with Lisa Lavender. Are you up to it?"

"W-What-"

"Good! I'll let you know when. Keep your uniform clean 'cause you're going with that." Roman Torchwick clapped his hands and spilled the rest of his coffee on his now-brown suit. "Also, get me a new suit. We'll talk on what you need to say later…"

/-/

Professor Ozpin calmly sipped his coffee as the meteorologists uselessly tried to forecast the weather on his computer, which was currently connected to the CCT – which probably meant Cross Continental Television, now that he thought of it.

As the weather forecast finally ended with a pathetic last effort of bringing up everyone's mood after a forecast full of rain, he patiently waited for the news to start and when they did, he was slightly intrigued by seeing Lisa Lavender, Vale's best reporter, introducing herself.

 _"I'm now standing just outside The Club, a local owned by Mr Hei Xiong, called 'Junior', that has recently suffered great property damage due to a fight within its premises. The perpetrator, a Huntress in training by the name of Yang Xiao Long, injured several employees, including Mr Xiong and his two bodyguards, Miltiades and Melanie Malachite, and caused almost a quarter of a million Lien of property damage."_

Ozpin froze mid-sip and slowly put the mug down.

 _"Here are a few of Mr Xiong's employees. They have kindly accepted to tell us what exactly happened, as Mr Xiong is currently busy and unable to meet us."_ Onscreen, the purple-haired woman turned to the nearest goon in black suit. Strangely enough, all of them had removed hats and sunglasses. Ozpin knew they were trying to make themselves look as normal as possible to get pity points, and he had to admit, it worked fairly well. _"Please, could you tell us your name?"_

 _"Name's Rosso. I'd like not to say my surname though. You know, you never know who might want revenge on you. I wouldn't put it past the chick that destroyed our bar, honestly."_

More pity points earned for them. Even though Ozpin always tried to protect his students, he had to admit they were doing a good job at making him frown at Ms Xiao Long's actions. Nevertheless, what was done was done. The damages had been paid, and the matter had been settled. He couldn't change how he had handled it any more – and even if he could, he doubted Taiyang or Qrow would agree with him.

 _"I understand, Mr Rosso. This isn't the first time people only give out their first names. Now, can you tell us what happened that night?"_

 _"Well, before that chick arrived, it was a pretty normal work shift. Nothing special, honestly. When this girl, Yang Xiao Long is what you've called her right? When Xiao Long arrived, she didn't immediately start a fight. When there are Hunters around we are always nervous, as they tend to be full of themselves and they think they can order civilians around just because they're powerful, but usually the law keeps them from actually going through with their threats, so we didn't really care about her."_ Ozpin winced at the accuse. Most Hunters didn't, but people usually remembered only those who caused a ruckus. For every ten Hunters, one was arrogant or drunk enough to threaten civilians, and that marked the whole Hunter community.

 _"Why do you think she did it then?"_

 _"Well, you've said she was a Huntress trainee, she probably thought herself above the law or something like that. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if these days, they allowed the kids to become Hunters without even teaching them the laws and restrictions they have to submit to."_ Rosso… _the goon_ shrugged vaguely. Ozpin forced himself not to humanize him too much lest he actually agreed with him. _"Anyway, she went to the counter and ordered something. Alcohol. The boss was manning the bar and he refused to give her anything alcoholic unless she showed him proof she was of legal drinking age – which she wasn't."_

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. If he had to stop his students from drinking alcohol, he'd forfeit immediately. Maybe he should just add a bar to the Beacon mess so the students would stop going to Vale's bars and pubs.

 _"Did she start a fight because of denied alcohol?"_

 _"Nah. She didn't even take anything after she wrecked the club up, so it wasn't like she was truly there for the alcohol. After the boss told her no, she asked him something. As you might know, the boss has the reputation of knowing lots of stuff. All legal, of course, he pays taxes and bills on that revenue. Only thing, you need money to buy info. Kinda like info breaking, but legalized and official. Well, the chick wanted to know something, and didn't want to pay. The boss told her he didn't know – which he actually didn't, if I may add. She got mad and grabbed him by the balls, literally, and threatened him. We all rushed to help, and she released him, and we thought that'd be it. As I said, no Hunter actually goes through their threat – not in our experience at least."_

 _"What happened next?"_

 _"Well, the girl knew she had to take the boss out first 'cause he's the strongest of us, I'll give her that: she knows how to fight. So out of the blue PAM! She punches him with some weird gun gauntlets that, let me tell you, hurt like hell. Then she began to punch everyone around her, not even stopping to think if we had Aura or not. Thank the gods Junior thought we could need it to deal with unruly customers when the twins were busy, or we wouldn't be talking to you now. Hate to say, all of us together didn't hold a candle against her. Makes me think if Hunters should really have all that power, they are impossible to stop unless other Hunters step in. Which sucks for us civilians. Anyway, the twins, Miltia and Melanie, fought her for a bit, but neither of them has actual Huntress training, so they went down as well. And when Junior joined the fight again, that crazy girl knocked him down too. And then she walked out of the club as if she'd just taken a walk in the park instead of having sent many of us to the hospital and almost destroyed the whole local – which is reinforced, I may add. So yeah, that's about it."_ Beside him, the other henchmen nodded in agreement to his tale.

Ozpin's frown turned fully into a scowl and he made a mental note of talking with Glynda about that particular event. If that was indeed the truth, then Ms Xiao Long had vastly overstepped the line.

 _"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr Rosso. Do you think there's any chance of being able to talk with Mr Xiong?"_

 _"'m 'fraid not, sorry missus."_

 _"It's miss, actually, and that's a shame, but understandable. I won't hold you any longer. Thank you once again."_

 _"No problem, miss. Besides, at least we got a break from work."_

Lisa Lavender and Rosso shared a short laugh, one Ozpin was inclined to join in as well. Work was truly the bane of humanity, and all adults knew that. Then the reporter turned back to the camera.

 _"Still regarding Ms Xiao Long, we have found out she has records of poor behaviour and anger issues back in Signal Academy, the combat school she attended before joining Beacon Academy a couple of months ago. While she was an above average student, are we sure allowing such an irascible and quick-to-anger fighter to become a Huntress has been a good choice? Is it better to have fight-enthusiasts skilled Hunters, or to have less skilled, but also calmer Hunters? Are we truly in such a moment of dire need that we can overlook such flaws in the future defenders of humanity?"_

Ozpin sighed and took his head in his hands. That was going to be a pain in the ass to deal with, and to be honest he didn't even know if he _could_ deal with it without causing a scandal or having to expel Ms Xiao Long. Alas, the news were scoop-hungry beasts ready to tear anyone to shreds if it meant they'd have their story. And who could be a better target than a young girl still in training, who had made the mistake of not being perfect?

He shook his head. True, they had a point. Several points, maybe. But Hunters were still people, and as people they weren't, and couldn't be, perfect and flawless. Too often civilians forgot that it was _because_ of those Hunters they were living in peace. And that what to them looked like a long period of peace, was instead a period of continuous fighting to maintain that peace. Fighting most civilians never knew about.

He steeled himself. He'd save Ms Xiao Long's reputation, one way or the other.

He'd surely need tons of calming drug and coffee.

Beacon's funds would need to be scraped off a little bit more.

 _"On the same topic, we have identified another rather questionable Huntress in training at Beacon. Ms Blake Belladonna, age seventeen, cat Faunus, daughter of Kali Belladonna and Ghira Belladonna – the current mayors and rulers of Menagerie. Thanks to several calls from our informants, we have discovered that she, alongside her team, was one of the causes for the incident at the docks, a couple of weeks ago. And… am I reading this right?"_

Ozpin looked up in alarm. They couldn't have known-

 _"And it seems that Ms Belladonna… is a former White Fang member, having left the organization not three months ago."_

 _ **No Ruby accusations 'cause Ozpin removed all and any actual proof, and news usually (usually) don't work on rumours with no proof. So, problems arise... alongside the smoke.**_

 _ **The Ninjas of Love plot won't end so quickly though! We have already spotted another tainted soul! This is just round 1!**_

 _ **Oof. Sucks to be Oz, Yang or Blakey right now.**_

 _ **I'd like to keep this longer, but my little brother is crying for me so gotta go.**_

 _ **Until next time,**_

 _ **Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh**_


	22. No One Likes the Media

**_Oh gods, it's been... what? 20 days since my last update, and 42 since my last update for this story. Okay, reasons - I read 200+ stories in the How To Train Your Dragon and Rise of the Guardians fandoms. Also, my WiFi broke, looped and ate up all the GBs of the SIM contract. Which isn't renewed until June 15 (I think...). Though this will make up for it, because the ending is freaking hilarious._**

 ** _Though it might count as character bashing... nah._**

The brightly-lit room bustled with movement as the six people prepared themselves. Ties were fixed, suit jackets were straightened, pants were smoothed down, and shirts were tucked into the waistline. Two opposite rows of chairs laid unoccupied on the two long sides of the room, the current inhabitants too busy and preoccupied to sit down and stay put until they were needed. From outside, a muted voice could be heard talking, and though the words were too muffled to be understood, it wasn't hard to guess what was it about.

"Now, students, let's go through this one last time," Ozpin requested, earning groans from all around as he stood tall and proud, and without his mug of coffee, in the middle of the room. "Ms Xiao Long?"

"No violence, no swearing, no verbally attacking anyone, no belching after drinking something, no insulting, no flirting sultrily, no being suggestive, and keep my mouth shut at all times unless asked to speak," the girl grumbled unhappily, clearly discontent about the rules she'd been set.

"Very good, but you forgot no getting angry and no using your Semblance," Ozpin pointed out, earning another groan, before looking at Blake. "Ms Belladonna?"

"No calling them racists, no declaring that I seek Faunus equality, no saying that the White Fang is a group of misguided Faunus, no attacking them if they are racist, no being emo, no being grumpy, no being pouty, no being sulky, no insulting them if they are racist, no being dark, no reading my books, no saying my books are erotic literature not smut, no getting angry when someone is a racist, no getting angry when someone insults the White Fang, no speaking unless specifically asked to," sighed Blake, not even looking up from her book – not Ninjas of Love, thankfully.

"Good. You three?" he went on, glancing at Ruby, Jaune and Sky.

"No getting super-angry, insulting, or attacking if they insult Yang or Blake," began Ruby.

"No rambling about weapons, no challenging people at dice, no flirting with Yang," continued Jaune.

"No devouring all the cookies, no commenting on how Mom cooks better, no being picky about the offered snacks," finished Sky.

"Perfect!" smiled the Headmaster. "Now, if you can all keep these simple rules in mind, we will get out of here being a big step closer to clearing Ms Xiao Long's and Ms Belladonna's names."

"Hurry, you're on," a voice called from the door. They all turned to see an old man with grey hair and brown eyes waving them in. He was wearing brown shorts and a white T-shirt with the words 'Dad did it!' on it. They all apparently stared for a few seconds too long, because he urged them on again. "Come on, don't just stand there, you have an interview!"

Ozpin glanced at his students, each of who calmed down in different ways. Yang punched her fists together and grinned. Blake… she was already relaxed thanks to her book. Ruby struck a mock Kung Fu pose and nodded with determination. Jaune threw a handful of dice on a chair, all coming up six, and nodded a little uncertainly. Sky pointed finger-guns at Yang and mouthed her a 'knock 'em dead'.

The Headmaster sighed. What an interesting and troublesome team.

He turned and nodded to the extravagant old man. "We're ready."

He just shrugged. "Then go in, no?" And then he disappeared.

The six of them exited the room stiffly, and were immediately waved over by another staff member, this time a middle-aged woman who hurriedly ushered them through a door and into the studio proper, where Lisa Lavender herself was waiting for them.

"Still regarding the scandal of the two Beacon students of our last report, today we will interview the Headmaster of Beacon, Professor Ozpin, and the two incriminated students, alongside the rest of their team." She gestured for them to take seats. Ozpin, Yang and Blake ended up on one couch, while Ruby, Jaune and Sky ended up on the other. Ozpin hid it well, but everyone could see he wasn't happy with being stuck between the two girls. "Now, before we start, would any of you like some tea or-"

"I'd like some milk, please!" Ruby spoke up, interrupting the reporter and causing everyone to look at her. She shrank down in her seat. "S-Sorry."

"It's no problem, dear," Ms Lavender smiled, waving for someone to go fetch some milk for her. "Anything else?"

"No, thank you," Ozpin intervened before anyone could say anything else. "We're fine. Besides, I'm sure this interview won't hold us here for too long."

The purple-haired woman smiled at him. "I'm sure it won't," she reassured him. "Your students must not be used to such events, we don't want to bother them with a boringly long interview."

"Oh don't worry 'bout us, we're ready for anything you can throw at us!" Yang exclaimed, grinning as she punched her fists together. Ozpin subtly jabbed his elbow into her side, using the fact they were side-by-side to his advantage, effectively wiping the smile off her face. "I-I mean, sure, go on, Miss."

The reporter looked at them for one more second before her gaze briefly swept over the others, who smiled nervously but kept their mouths shut. "Alright. Well, why don't we start with the accusations? Ms Xiao Long, is it true you have willingly caused a fight with civilians and destroyed Mr Hei Xiong's local, 'The Club'?"

Yang's lips curled up, nervously, but it was clear that was more of a grimace than a smile. "Yeah? Kind of? No, no, I mean, yes I did but they totally deserved it."

Ozpin's hand twitched as he reigned in the temptation of smacking his face, and _her_ , in frustration.

Of course, Lavender didn't let her go with such a statement. "What do you mean, 'deserved'? The local suffered extreme damage and several employees were hospitalized. What makes you say they deserve what happened?"

Yang cleared her throat and shrugged awkwardly – and hadn't the situation been so rough, Ruby would've laughed at how for once, Yang was the one feeling awkward and not the other way around. "Well, hadn't they continued to attack me, I wouldn't have attacked them. I only fought those who fought me."

Ozpin sighed.

"However, there are dozens of ocular witnesses who claim you threw the first punch, and that they only intervened after you attacked their boss," the purple-haired woman pointed out. "What do you have to say about that? Do you claim they were lying?"

Yang's eyes met Ozpin's, and a silent message was exchanged.

"Well, they weren't lying about them attacking me once I knocked out their boss, that's for sure," Yang laughed. No one joined her, and she cut herself off with an awkward chuckle. "Though, I only punched their boss because I was provoked to do so."

"Those very same witness claim to have seen you order a drink, refuse to show any identification when asked, and then sexually assault their boss by grabbing and holding him by his testicles," noted Lavender, and five pairs of eyes shifted to look at Yang, who was trying to make herself as small as possible. "Then, after you released him, they claim you've tricked him by offering him a 'make up kiss' and then, taking advantage of the surprise element, you knocked him out and started a fight with all his employees, including his two bodyguards, the twins Melanie and Miltiades Malachite. Is this true?"

Yang shrank even more, so much she looked on the verge of falling off the couch, and nodded. "Yeah…"

The reporter stared at her for no more than a few seconds, but to everyone it felt like a hundred years, as the possibility of more questions hung in the air above them. Finally, she turned away and faced Blake. "I suppose there is little more to ask Ms Xiao Long at the moment. Ms… Belladonna, am I saying it right? Good. Now, Ms Belladonna, will you answer a few questions?"

Blake just nodded.

A smile as fake as a Beowolf's appeared on Lavender's face. "Perfect. Now, before we start, could you please introduce yourself?"

Looking slightly startled, Blake glanced at Ozpin, who just shrugged. "Okay. My name is Blake Belladonna, I'm seventeen years old, and I'm currently a student at Beacon Academy. A first year, to be precise."

The woman nodded approvingly, making her pale a bit. "Now, Ms Belladonna, is it true you were once part of the White Fang?"

"It is."

"Why?"

The question took Blake off-guard. "Excuse me?"

"I asked you why you were part of it," explained the reporter. "And more importantly, why did you leave. The White Fang surely does not seem to be so easy to get out of. So why and how did you get away?"

Blake sighed dejectedly. "I've been in the White Fang, the original White Fang, most of my life. I was basically born into it, back when they were peaceful protests. Five years ago, however, the old leader stepped down and a new one took his place. A new leader… with new, more violent methods." She refused to make eye contact with anyone, instead preferring to stare down at the floor. "Methods that, at first, seemed to work. Faunus were treated equally-"

"Because people were afraid of the White Fang," Lavender pointed out.

"Yes. I've never been okay with that, so I left. I realized that the peaceful organization I knew was no more, and I left. I chose to attend Beacon as a way to remedy my mistakes and help the people who need it, and seek equality between humans and Faunus – the true, original goal of the White Fang."

"You mentioned the White Fang became violent five years ago – however, you only left a few months ago. Can you explain why?" she asked.

Blake sighed once again. "The Vale lieutenant brought the violence to a whole new level. I couldn't stand it any more – and since I would've just died had I confronted him directly, I had to get away so that I could help people in my own way."

The reporter hummed and leaned forwards. "This lieutenant… you said he brought the violence to a whole new level. However, public executions of the staff of captured cargoes have been happening for far longer than a few months – does that mean you were okay with those?"

"No!" Blake shot off her seat and glared at the woman. "Never! I never wanted anyone to die! I never knew of those – because had I known, I would've left _much_ earlier!"

"So you were in a terrorist organization that stole cargoes, destroyed shops and properties, and murdered prisoners, and you didn't know anything?" inquired the reporter, more than a little sceptical.

"Yes! No! Argh!" Blake shook her head in frustration. "I've been kept in the dark about the more… extreme… practice of the other members. But yes, I did know about the thefts and property damage – I thought the targets deserved it for how they treated their Faunus employees or customers."

Lavender raised an eyebrow. "So you agreed to steal and damage property instead of using legal ways to make the laws be respected?"

"The laws weren't working," Blake replied stiffly. "Otherwise we would've never needed to resort to violence."

"'We'? So you still associate yourself to the White Fang?" Lavender immediately continued.

"What? No-Ugh!" Blake facepalmed. "Don't go putting words in my mouth, I never said that! I was part of the White Fang back then, and that's why I said 'we'! I'm no more a member!"

"And what about the rumours about you and your team being at the docks during the attempted theft of the Schnee Dust cargo?" inquired the reporter, leaning slightly forwards.

Blake, and the rest of her team, all looked at Jaune, who sputtered. "W-What?! Why are you looking at me, she asked _you!_ "

"You're the team leader," Blake stated flatly.

"You speak for us," Sky immediately threw him under the bus.

Jaune panicked. "W-Well, yes, we were there – we're the ones who s-stopped the theft!"

Lavender made a show of slowly examining each member of the team. "You… stopped Roman Torchwick, a very famous criminal mastermind, and the White Fang, a worldwide known terrorist organization. Stopped by a first year team. Forgive me if I'm sceptical – the forces of law have tried to apprehend them before and always failed. How could you have succeeded?"

"W-Well, we weren't alone…" Jaune pointed at Ozpin. "There were Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch, Mr Xiao Long and Mr Branwen with us, all professional Hunters, to ensure nothing went wrong."

Lavender glanced at Ozpin, who nodded, confirming Jaune's words. She smiled. "Tell me, Mr Arc, did you and your team know about Ms Belladonna's former association with the White Fang?"

Jaune snorted. "Hell no. It came up after the fight at the docks. Or, well, during. Yeah… not like we stopped fighting of course!" he scrambled to correct his mistake. "We were just taking a small break to address the Goliath in the room before continuing to fight!"

Ozpin ran a hand over his face and stood up. "Excuse me, I need a cup of coffee. I'll be back in a minute." And with that, he ran away from the five imbeciles he'd been so set on bringing with him.

/-/

"Well, that went poorly," commented Jaune.

"You think?" came Yang's heavily sarcastic reply. "No, I think it went just perfectly!"

The five of them all sighed as one. Jaune, sitting cross-legged on the ground, slumped and laid his chin on his palm. Yang and Ruby exchanged glances from either end of the bench they were sitting on, ignoring Blake who was staring at her book in between them. Sky shrugged from where he was laying on the grass.

"Yeah, we screwed up big time," he commented. "Ruby, forget I ever said 'screwed'."

"Sure."

"But in the end it's not like it matters." When everyone turned to look at him, he shrugged again and sat up. "Media chase stories like these and when they get a hold of one, it's almost impossible to make them let go. And I can understand it – they are making money out of this, money the employees will use to put food on the table. They think it's necessary."

"Yes, but had we been able to defend ourselves…" Jaune trailed off sadly.

Sky shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Look, you guys don't know what it's like. Jaune, you travelled around for ten years, it's not like you remained in town long enough to _see_ how these stories start, go and end. Ruby, Yang, you two lived with a Hunter parent. You probably heard more about Grimm hunting, border patrols, and new contract legislation than normal daily news. And Blake – do I even have to say this? You probably never heard of a normal news story that didn't involve racism, discrimination, Faunus hatred and stuff like that." He snorted as if to dismiss her glare. "Me? I've seen a lot of this stuff. I grew up as a normal kid who just went to combat school instead of civilian school, but had you seen me outside of Signal, you'd never guess I was a Hunter in training. I had normal interests, normal hobbies, and normal parents who spoke about the news every day. I'm not an expert but even I can say this – in the end it doesn't matter if we're guilty or not, and we are, what matters is what the media and the audience think of the story."

"So basically we just went there to be humiliated?" snapped Yang.

"More or less."

Everyone stared at him in shock at his nonchalance attitude. "How can you be so calm?!" exclaimed Blake, snapping her book shut. "Yang and I might face prison for this, and this entire team might be expelled or worse blacklisted, and you just don't care?!"

"Look, we're in this way over our heads, okay? We don't have a say in what will happen or how it'll happen. So why bother panicking? It's not gonna change anything," he replied with a bored tone. "If you know that Remnant will vanish tomorrow and we'll all die no matter what, why bother losing your cool? Just enjoy what little you've left because fear or not you're not gonna change anything."

"But who says we can't do anything?" Ruby countered quickly. With a grimace, she continued, "Yes, we messed up during the interview and we messed up before that. But… it's never too late to fix it, right?"

Sky exhaled explosively, exasperated. "Guys, stop it! We're not superheroes, we're not gods, we're not even actual Hunters or at least people with political influence! We aren't infallible! Right now, all we can do is lay low and hope that Ozpin will fix this somehow. We? We aren't gonna try anything because there's nothing to try, okay? Just let it happen."

"Just let it happen?! Is that your life philosophy or something?"

The boy turned to look at Blake with a raised eyebrow. "You know what? Yes, you're pretty spot on. I'm not one to delude myself into thinking I can fix everything and I can win all battles. My teacher at Signal said it's one of the traits of a good Hunter. At the same time I don't like being the one to make choices because if I do, I'll be blamed for them if they go wrong! If now I came up with an idea for how to 'fix' this and it failed, it'd be my fault! So it's way better to let _others_ decide, and I chose Ozpin to make those decisions. You guys have the habit of never thinking things through and always choosing the most straightforward way you can."

"What kind of a mentality is that?!" exclaimed Yang, annoyed as well. "A full-time, lifelong pity-party?! 'Oh, I can't change anything so I won't try at all'. Is that seriously how you live?!"

"You can't get hurt if you don't take any risk at all," Sky shot back. "Isn't that how Blake used to live as well? 'Oh, I'm in the White Fang, now the others can choose for me'."

"But as opposite to you I abandoned that mentality!" Blake cut into the argument. Jaune and Ruby exchanged a glance and sighed.

"Yes, and you picked up the mentality that brought us all to fight a renowned criminal and a famous terrorist organization at the docks, destroying who knows how much Dust and other stuff!"

"But we stopped Torchwick!" countered Blake.

"And we destroyed more Dust than he would've been able to steal anyway!" Sky waved them off. "Look, had you been on your own, I would've told you to go on and do whatever you want. But we're a team whether you realize it or not, which means that what you two do in a hotheaded moment will impact the whole team – you said it yourself, Blake. Our team might be expelled or blacklisted because of what _you two_ did. We'd have to be insane to let you decide the next course of action!"

"Fine!" shouted Blake, standing up. "Then let Jaune and Ruby decide since they're the only ones who aren't in this argument!"

"Fine by me!"

"Fine!"

The three of them turned to look at Ruby, who had been sitting on Blake's other side from Yang, only to find air in her place. They looked down at the ground in front of the bench to see if their blond leader was there, and promptly found out he had abandoned them too. It was like they'd never been there to begin with.

"Uh…"

/-/

"This is a disaster," complained Jaune, running a hand down his face. "Yang and Blake are being labelled criminals, the whole team will probably be investigated, and those three are now arguing like there's no tomorrow. Can this get any worse?"

"You just jinxed it." The two of them stopped and glanced around, and then upwards. Maybe there was a meteor about to strike the school and destroy everything?

Nope, no meteors in sight, just a cloudy sky that promised light rain in the evening.

"But, is Sky right or just being pessimistic?" wondered the young redhead. "I mean, about the fact we can't do anything. There must be _something_ we can do, right?"

Jaune sighed. "I don't know… I never expected Sky to burst like that, he's never confronted us like that before. And… that's kinda what is making me think he's right. We tagged along just fine when we went to the docks, and that was one crazy mission, so I don't really know if it's wise to ignore him."

"Maybe we could talk to your aunt?" offered the girl. "Maybe she has an idea or some advice?"

He shook his head. "No, she's busy. I tried looking for her but she's doing something for the headmaster. She's probably already working on this case."

The two teens sighed again and continued their stroll through the gardens. It was late November, so there weren't many flowers and the grass was green but monotone. Bushes and trees had already begun to lose their now orange-shaded foliage. A typical autumnal afternoon, all in all, completed by the light grey clouds that covered the sky like a mass of cotton.

There weren't many students around, as expected, but to their surprise there were more than they'd thought there'd be. Unfortunately, most of them seemed to be looking at their Scrolls to reading a newspaper, and more than a stare was directed their way, so the reason for such a traffic was pretty easy to guess.

Maybe luck was on their side for that handful of minutes, because no one tried to approach them or address the Leviathan in the garden. Instead, they were looked at, but thankfully never confronted by anyone.

Of course that luck had to run out not fifteen minutes later, when rain began to pit-pat down from the clouds and the people finally realized that Autumn wasn't always a dry season. The two of them weren't so bothered by the rain, but one can only stay under the rain for so long before their clothes get soaked, and they didn't want that. However, it seemed that Fate wasn't on their side that day – nor any other day.

"What's up losers?" Why was the school's most idiotic bully waiting for them in front of their dorm, they didn't know. And part of them hoped they never would. They hoped everything could be solved with mentioning Goodwitch and saying goodbye, but as Jaune preached, luck didn't exist.

"Cardin," Ruby greeted him in her most deadpan voice. "What are you doing here? You know Yang hates you… and Blake. And Jaune. And Sky. And me. And basically everyone else in this school."

Cardin scowled for a second in annoyance before a dry smirk made its way to his face. "True, I'm not a fan favourite around here. But that's not really much from someone who's on a team with a former terrorist and a club destroyer, is it?"

Ruby's hands clenched, as did Jaune's, but they weren't Yang. With a harsh glare, Jaune stepped up. "What do you want?"

Raising his hands in mock surrender, Cardin snorted. "Oh, no need to be so aggressive, okay? I'm just here to have a chat with my best friends!"

Now it was Ruby's turn to snort, and for a good reason. "Friends? You're a bully. We'd never be friends with you."

"Ah, but this video here says otherwise," grinned the boy, pulling out his Scroll to show them a recording of their 'purifying ritual' the other day. Quick as lightning, Ruby snatched the Scroll and smashed it into the floor. Cardin deadpanned. "Do you really think me stupid enough to only keep one copy of it? Nah, my teammates have it too, and I have it saved on my OumCloud account. And guess what happens if we don't become friends?"

Ruby glowered at him with all the ferocity a five feet seven cinnamon roll could muster. Jaune, who unfortunately had experience with bullies, just sighed dejectedly. "I'm pretty sure you didn't blackmail us just because you were lonely and needed friends. What is it?"

Cardin shrugged. "Right now? Nothing. But, you know, all the homework the profs give us is _so_ boring… so I thought 'Hey Cardin, you have two boring friends, why don't you let them do it? Boring gets along well with boring!' and here I am!"

Ruby opened her mouth to retort, but Jaune cut her off. "So, it's just for the homework?"

Cardin tsked. "For now, losers. I'll come up with more stuff to have you do later. Oh, for example I could have you lose all your matches in combat class!"

"We're not all that good anyway," shrugged Jaune. He had very little training, and Ruby -as skilled as she was- was still two years younger than anyone else in the school. It wasn't exactly fair every time they were paired up with someone else.

"Spoilsport, aren't you?" grumbled the buffer boy. "Fine. I'll get back at you when I know what to have you do."

With his piece having been said, the brunette swaggered off, disappearing behind a corner. Jaune, totally unimpressed, shrugged and turned to enter the dorm when he realized Ruby was staring at him.

"What?"

"How can you be so okay with this?!" exclaimed the girl. "We just got blackmailed into doing all of Cardin's homework!"

"Hey, you do remember my aunt's a professor, right?" She oohed and nodded. "That, and the fact she'll manage to erase those videos within a day. I'm two hundreds percent sure Cardin won't bully us for long. My aunt always fixed everything – it's literally part of her Semblance, which is a reflection of our souls."

Ruby blinked. "Huh… good point."

And with that, the two of them entered their dorm, forgetting about Cardin the moment their teammates began to question them on where they'd gone during their argument.

To be completely honest, nothing about Cardin was worth remembering anyway.

/-/

Glynda Goodwitch glanced longingly out of the window, seeing the sun touching the horizon as the clouds turned pink and orange in a spectacular autumnal sunset, before shaking her head and looking back down at the wreck of a man she was patting on the shoulder.

"And… and then… then Blake jumped up and exclaimed that her parents would've never allowed public executions… even though I… I had told her not to mention her father was the founder of the White Fang…" Ozpin downed another cup of coffee and reached for the umpteenth refill. "And then… then Yang made a _terrible_ joke about… about cat Faunus and curiosity… which degenerated into a discussion between them all about which animal traits…" Another coffee, another refill. "Which animal traits are… inherited by Faunus… and then Sky asked if Faunus could go in heat… and then… then…"

The Glynda Goodwitch of twenty years prior would've winced at the man's tale. That woman, though, was long dead and gone, and in her place stood a war veteran with two decades of experience in dealing with highly arrogant teenagers with hero complexes – among other things. That war veteran just nodded understandingly and pushed another mug into the man's hands.

"Then Yang made a joke… about Faunus in heat being hot… and Blake argued it was racist… and Yang pointed out how joining a terrorist organization counted as racism too… and then Jaune announced he had to go… to go to the bathroom because the cookies offered weren't all that good…" Coffee, down, refill. "A-And Ruby offered to go with him so he didn't get lost… and Yang made _another_ joke, to tease them… and then Ruby yelled at her to stop it and… and then… then they began fighting… they trashed everything… and they _still_ missed the camera… and then Jaune began cheering Ruby on… while Blake and Sky pretended nothing was happening… and… and…"

Goodwitch sighed and shook her head. "And where were you?"

"I… I…" The man's eyes glazed over. "I… I had just gone to get a coffee to calm down, I swear! I… I didn't mean to…"

With another sigh, the woman patted his shoulder. "There, there. What happened?"

"When… when I got back, Jaune and Ruby were tickling each other and Yang thought it'd be fun to see if _I_ was ticklish and made me choke on the coffee!" cried the man. "I couldn't get it to go down, it was stuck in my throat, and they were going on as if nothing… as if nothing happened! And then Yang… she… she… she asked Blake if… if them killing me was to be… to be considered a crime or just an accident… and Blake replied an accident… and Yang joked about the White Fang using similar methods to kill the prisoners…" His sobs increased. "I just wanted a coffee, I didn't mean for that to happen!"

"Finish the tale, I promise you, you'll feel better," she urged him on.

"And after… after the fight, I finally spat out the coffee… on the reporter's face! And then they crashed the camera! The last thing people saw was me spitting on the reporter's face!"

That was indeed a bad situation, but thankfully not the worst she'd gone through. With a sigh, she just handed him more coffee. With a bit of luck, and lots of that beverage, the headmaster would be back to semi-normal in a few weeks' time. He'd just been unlucky to begin with such a terrible shock instead of being gradually exposed to the student's chaos and mayhem. With time he'd-huh?

She glanced down when Ozpin took her hand, and fought back a blush when he saw him kneeling in front of her, staring up at her in wonder and hope. What was the idiot doing?!

"Glynda… you always know what to do… you always fix every problem… without you, my life would be in ruins. Would you, Glynda Goodwitch, run away with me? We'll live alone, on a faraway island, where no student will ever find us. A life without chaos… nor problems to fix… no media…"

She was tempted. She was incredibly tempted. But in the end, the war against Salem wouldn't win itself, and she had a responsibility towards those godforsaken walking disasters people called Hunters in training. She sighed. "Ozpin, no. We can't just abandon our jobs."

The man gave a suffering cry of lament and slumped, holding the sides of his head. "I run a school full of imbeciles…"

 ** _You have no idea, Oz._**

 ** _So! I really have no idea what to say right now. So I won't. Goodbye._**

 ** _Oh! My friend LordHellPhoenix currently has an ongoing poll for his next story, which will close on June the 16th, so if you haven't already, go an vote!_**

 ** _Until next time, (hopefully not in another month and a half)_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	23. Getting There

**_I know I took a lot of time but I didn't have a lot of time. So, enjoy this comedy-filled chapter which I KNOW you will like. Hats off to you if you can not laugh while reading it. Also, I will be gone the whole month of October, from the 1st to the 25th, I go back to Italy to visit some of the people I left behind, so don't bother asking for updates on any of my stories. Even if I do bring my laptop, there's no way I can write anything with all the chaos the trip is gonna include._**

Roman Torchwick was as happy as a criminal with a pyromaniac murder-happy bitch on his ass could be, which wasn't much to begin with. Despite his admittedly pathetic failure at the docks, he had more than made up for it by 'rescuing' the Faunus from the Schnee mineshafts and then shovelling dirt on Beacon's students. He loved to watch those young imbeciles realize that the world could turn against them as easily as it could turn on a criminal like him. He found their naivety so hilarious.

Not only that, but thanks to his 'holy quest' in Racistland, aka his little trip to Atlas, he'd gained the respect and admiration of many Faunus of the White Fang. Some were even wondering if he was a Faunus in disguise or something. Typical stupid animals. Only their leader hadn't been fooled, but he still held some sort of hateful respect for him, and coming from Adam Taurus himself, that was as far as he could go in the man's graces.

Fortunately, not all the White Fang members were as smart as that one. Everyone else had bought his little pretence with ease, even that big chainsaw-wielding guy who he still didn't know what kind of Faunus was. He was a hero to the White Fang.

All too easy.

Cinder had even cancelled the auction for more recruits. After all, what need did they have for more, when he had just filled their ranks? More recruits meant more equipment to be given out, and more chances to be caught. They could make do with what they had just fine.

The only one who wasn't happy was Neo, but that was to be expected. Cinder had prohibited her to kill those animals, and she was in a stabby mood. On top of that, it was her time of the month, and even if Aura negated the pain, she was still crabby. The poor lass was being driven insane by boredom.

Meh, he didn't care. As long as _he_ was happy, he didn't care. Neo would get out of her funk soon enough. After all, the White Fang needed people to punish the unruly recruits and people to get rid of the prisoners. While those two weren't Neo's favourites, they still contained torture and murder, which would be good for her.

And it didn't end there! Roman's current favourite week was so good also because of what happened on the news. He knew the media would tear into those students like Grimm on a baby, but he didn't know they would give the news _that_ much material. It was like they were asking to be covered in shame.

With a chuckle, he picked up his Scroll and looked through the newspapers.

 _Extreme and unjustified aggressiveness. Hidden racism. Sexual perversion. Uncontrollable and disobedient to an extreme._

And those were just a few of the flaws the media had given them. All of them based on actual facts, but exaggerated immensely for a scoop. Aggressiveness? Siblings fights existed before Dust was invented. Hidden racism? Last Roman checked, those were called jokes between friends. Horrible timing, sure, but not so incriminating on its own. Sexual perversion? He'd be surprised if teens those days _didn't_ make sexual jokes left and right, especially when one was served to them on a silver platter. Uncontrollable? He wanted to laugh. Since when teens, Hunter trainees or not, were _controllable_? Parents dreaded adolescence for very real reasons.

Of course, if the media were to say that, they'd lose much of their scoop. It wasn't like they specifically liked scandals, it was just that for the time being, a scandal would bring them more views and money. It was just business.

And all that amused him to no end. Next thing they'd do would probably be portray him as a poor victim of those big bad trainees. They were attacking the so-called defenders of humanity to defend some poor criminals. Oh, the irony was sweeter than revenge.

Not that they were wrong, he had to admit it. Defenders of humanity or not, being the only ones to wield such immense powers such as Aura, Semblances and Hunter training, most of those 'defenders of humanity' ended up being arrogant, proud, pompous idiots who thought themselves above normal people.

If there was something Roman hated, was degrading others like that. He was a criminal mastermind, the best in Vale and known all over the world. Yet he admitted that a shop clerk would do a much better job than him if he were to be hired in a shop. He knew he had fields of expertise and that he didn't know everything.

Unfortunately, Hunters did not know such things.

He supposed it was only natural. Most Hunters only saw normal people when they were called in for an emergency, which meant the people would be scared, defenceless, and _completely_ relying on them. It fed their ego, and made them think that normal people couldn't do anything on their own. So when they saw a normal person trying to do things on their own, they immediately stepped in, taking over, because it was for 'their own good', to prevent them from getting hurt since they weren't superheroes like the Hunters.

Well-meaning intentions, extremely wrong and arrogant actions. Roman _adored_ the irony.

He was different. He didn't care to do the right or the wrong thing. He just did what he needed to do. He never went out of his way to help or harm someone. If he were to see a random child about to be eaten by Grimm, he'd step in and save them, not because it was the right thing to do, but because he wasn't a Grimm. The world wasn't in black and white. Criminals and Hunters alike were people just like every other civilian.

But Hunters didn't think like that. They thought they were the heroes, the ones who were always right and on the good side.

And that was why he found so very entertaining to see Hunters being painted as the bad guys. No matter what one called it, karma or justice or whatever, he just loved seeing them being called out on their bullshit.

It shook the world of those naive 'black-and-white' kind of thinkers, and he loved to shake worlds.

It wasn't something personal, really. True, those kind of people irritated him, but it was more of a 'war veteran looking at children playing war' kind of irritation. It was the irritation of someone who knew how the world was, and was surrounded by hopeful idiots who illuded themselves.

Was it wrong for him to be amused by the sufferance of others? Maybe. But he didn't care. Few were the times criminals weren't painted as evil monsters.

 _He's a liar, stay away from him, he'll stab you in the back when you aren't looking_.

 _He's a thief, you can't trust a word of what he says_.

 _He broke the law, he should be thrown to the Grimm_.

 _He's just a criminal. He's evil_.

His good mood vanished, and with it his smile. Those memories never failed to ruin everything.

Roman Torchwick lighted a cigar and took a long, calming puff of smoke before exhaling slowly, trying to draw himself with the smoke. Then he turned back to the newspapers and smiled once again. "Let's see who's the criminal now, huh? Maybe all those people-beloved heroes aren't so heroic after all."

/-/

 _BOOM_.

A pile of papers slammed on the wooden desk, making it tremble. One of the pens fell, and the computer's screen went static for a second. Ozpin blearily looked up, looking very worse for wear, and a feminine sigh was heard before a cup of coffee was laid on the table.

The man sluggishly reached out and took the mug, draining half of it in one go and regretting it immediately. The immensely bitter beverage didn't burn as much as scorch his tongue and throat, which was probably a good thing as the taste would've otherwise made him throw up.

"Easy, Ozpin, small sips," Goodwitch instructed, placing a hand over his wrist and lowering it gently. "It's _very_ strong. Should keep you awake for long enough."

Ozpin shuddered and glared at the drink. "What is this… this… this affront to the word coffee?"

"I asked Oobleck to get the most concentrated caffeinated drink he knew of, even if it wasn't drinkable. Your Aura should protect you from dying from it," the woman replied off-handedly, making Ozpin glanced warily at the mug. "Anyway, I may have found a solution to our problem."

"In just one day? Glynda, you're a lifesaver." Literally. He wouldn't be there if it wasn't for her.

"However, not all of them might be… desirable." She was obviously underselling it. "Should I begin?"

"Go on."

"Leaking the media informations about Salem."

"No way."

"Telling your life story – your _real_ life story."

"That's worse than the first."

"Sending a few teams of the least liked trainees in Beacon to a suicide mission against Atlas."

"I don't think that'd be a good idea, but you never know…"

"Kidnapping James Ironwood, drugging him, and making him publicly sing Living la Vida Loca, naked, in Vale's main park."

"Tempting, really tempting, but a political disaster."

"Ordering the assassination of General Ironwood."

"What has that man ever done to you?"

"Should I start listing?"

"No, please." Ozpin coughed into his hand at her glare and then waved at her to go on. If her glare were to get any colder, Ozpin would be hibernated on the spot. "Please, by all means, continue."

"Offering a group of reporters a free tour and a one week paid permanence in Beacon to show them how our students actually live and act."

"We want to clear their names, Glynda, not prove the media right."

"Blacklisting Team CRDS while deceiving the people into thinking they are the incriminated students."

"I'll add it to the list of possible choices."

"Organizing a fake terrorist attack."

"Another addition."

"Break a highly dangerous criminal out of prison."

"Let's keep this as Plan B."

"That's all, sir." Goodwitch patted the pile of papers. "Now, these are the complaints from the people of Vale. Before you despair, sir, I already had Oobleck answer to them and sign them with your name."

"You truly are a godsend," sighed the man. Then he looked down at the short list he'd made. "So, suicide mission against Atlas, blacklisting CRDS, terrorist attack or prison breakout."

"Please, sir, do _not_ lose that list," implored the woman. "We don't need people knowing what exactly we do for our favourite students."

Ozpin waved a hand in the air. "The people don't understand how important the Silver Eyed warriors are to the world. And now we have two half-Silver Eyes in our school. One Silver Eye is enough to activate the power, which means we have two new future additions to our group. We need to protect them from those story-hungry media at all costs."

"Holy words, sir, especially when one of those Silver Eyes is my nephew," nodded the Deputy Headmistress.

"I have only one question though… why Team CRDS?" asked the ancient mage. "I know they are not the most kind-hearted of people, but they are not the worst we have in our academy at the moment."

Goodwitch huffed. "Mr Winchester thought it was a good idea to blackmail Mr Arc Rose Xiao Long."

"May he rest in peace."

"Not if I have a say in it."

/-/

 _"We will continue our report on the possible terrorist in Vale at a later date. In other recent news, the infamous criminal Jennifer Vandal has escaped prison. This woman has been imprisoned for several crimes of-"_

The TV was turned off.

Cinder began to pace in the hotel room she currently shared with her lackeys. An anonymous call to the police warning there will soon be a terrorist attack, and a jailbreak. That was going to be a minor problem for Torchwick and Taurus. Not for her, of course, nothing was a problem for her, but those two poor fools had no idea how to do their jobs as it was, she knew they'd have a hard time _also_ hiding from the police.

It was frustrating how close they'd been to moving onto phase two…

Of course a prison breakout had to happen _just_ when everyone's attention was focused on the Beacon students and away from her group. Of all the damn times for something like that to happen, that had to be the worst. Now the police would be more alert than ever, which would make it harder for her plans to work. And if that wasn't enough, someone had snitched to the cops that a terrorist attack might happen, which meant everyone would be prepared for _her_ terrorist attack. Had Ozpin uncovered her plans? Did he know what was coming? The man had given Salem trouble for millennia, maybe he'd somehow found out her plans and was preparing his countermeasures.

Cinder Fall exhaled slowly. It didn't matter in the end. Her plans were too perfect to be ruined by anyone. She could deal with anything Fate threw her way, because she knew it was her destiny to rule over the entire world as undisputed queen and supreme goddess of… well, everything. She deserved nothing less, and she was ready to see Remnant burn if that was what it took.

She was invincible, and nothing could stop her.

 _"Ember Autumn killed. Loading level 34. Good luck!"_

Now, if Mercury could just stop playing that blasted game…

/-/

"…thank you again, love you too, yes, yes we'll try, no promises, yes, thank you, see you." Jaune Arc Rose Xiao Long closed the call and sighed. "Okay, one good, one _very_ good and one bad news. Good news, Ruby, is that Aunt Glynda took care of Cardin. Very good news is that they've apparently managed to take the media's attentions off of us for the time being." And instant, loud cheer rose from his teammates at that. "Bad news, we are under house arrest, unable to go to Vale, and they are pondering whether we should attend the Vytal Festival at all."

"What?!" The happy mood vanished in an instant, falling into a shocked anger. "Why?! We've just been framed!"

"Actually, I can see why they would do that," Sky replied, ignoring Yang's glare, a feat not many were capable of. "I mean, we _have_ broken some laws one way or the other. Even though their accusations are false, it wouldn't take much for them to investigate and find out some _real_ dirt on us."

"Yeah, but locking us in Beacon like this is just going to make things worse," reasoned Blake, putting down her book. "It'll make us look like criminals. Innocents don't run."

"They run when people are pointing guns at them," retorted Sky. "Seriously, who ever said that? It's just stupid. People run when they feel threatened, innocent or not."

"Quoting my aunt word by word, we need to stay here to 'prevent the media from realizing their accusations are actually true'," intervened Jaune, waving his hands to get everyone's attention. "But it's just for a few days, maybe weeks. If we are on our best behaviour, I'm sure they'll allow us to participate in the tournament. And as for Vale, we don't need to go there. Beacon's huge, we won't feel claustrophobic."

"It's not that, Jaune, we've gone a week without visiting Vale before and we can do it again," stated Blake. "It's the fact that we're being punished for something the media made up. It's unfair, and as Hunters in training it should be our job to fight injustice."

"Look, I'm not saying I don't agree with you, I'm just saying that's what my aunt wants us to do because that's what she thinks it's best for everyone." No one seemed to be really convinced. "It's the best course of action. She's helping us solve this mess, the least we can do is at least stick to what she tells us to do."

"I think Jaune is right," Ruby spoke up, earning an incredulous look from her sister. "I don't want to stay here and do nothing, but I want even less to make Goodwitch angry. Besides, we're just gonna use this time to prepare ourselves, right?"

"I agree on the not making Goodwitch angry part, less so on the preparations. We can't let Torchwick get away so easily," replied Blake, standing up from her bed to look out of the window. "He is out there, spreading his evil, ruining lives. We _must_ do something."

Just then, a stray ray of sunlight pierced the thick layer of clouds, bathing her in a righteous, white glow.

Jaune deadpanned at her. That had been quoted word by word by Ninjas of Love XXVI, Ruining the Rectum, and that was one of his sister's worst volumes. Who could even invent a virus that made people want to sodomize each other, and still be the hero of the story? More importantly, what kind of illness needed a very thorough sodomy to be cured?

He considered himself lucky he didn't know the answer.

Apparently, Blake had found the words that had led to the creation of said anal-sex virus very inspiring. Weird girl.

"Blake, you heard Jaune. We do something, Goodwitch kills us. We have to think this through _very_ carefully. It's not everyday you get into a mess such as this," Sky argued, ruining Blake's glorious moment.

"Why are you being such a killjoy, are we supposed to just stay here and get bored for a week?" complained Yang, rolling her eyes.

"No, we're supposed to act like normal students for a change," he countered snappily. "Just following the lessons, doing our homework, and spending our free time with our friends or our hobbies. Is that so hard for you guys?"

A bout of silence was his only answer.

It was a great dilemma. To do or not to do? That was the problem. They had no freaking idea what to do or not to do, which was the bigger problem. And Torchwick seemed to know perfectly well what he wanted to do, which was the biggest problem.

"Look, it's not so bad after all, we can still do other things," the boy continued, trying to cheer them up. "The Beacon Dance is basically behind the corner, we can help organize it. That'll help our reputation, guys, a lot."

"Right, let's take care of a stupid ball while the wellbeing of all Vale might be at stake," Blake snapped sarcastically, grumpy about her inspirational speech not having had any effect. "We should be hunting down Torchwick. If it were up to me, I'd work all day and night to try and find him until he's behind bars."

"Thank the Gods it's not up to you then," he snorted back. "We are just trainees. We should just be enjoying our time at Beacon, worrying about exams and getting a date to the dance, and dreaming about what we'll do once we graduate."

"Boring," Yang commented bluntly. "We should be turning this lame ball into some great party. If we really can't go after Torchwick any longer, at least we can have some fun here in Beacon, am I right?"

"Listen guys, I for one _don't_ want to disobey Aunt Glynda's direct orders, because she might ground us until our graduation." Jaune drummed his fingers on the surface of a desk before sighing. "I know it's frustrating but sometimes being a Hunter is also listening to skilled, more experienced Hunters when they tell you to stay put. I trust my aunt's judgement. If she says it'd be best for everyone if we lay low for a while, I side with her. Though Yang's not wrong, we can still have fun here."

"Fun? It's not about _fun_ , it's about saving the world from the taint of evil!" Blake exclaimed, outraged.

"Blake, are you even listening to what you say?" Sky shouted back. "You sound like some cheesy hero in a book!"

 _'Ninjas of Love Volume XI, Cult of Creampies,'_ Jaune added in his head. Chapter twenty-one, page two-hundreds fifty one, second paragraph from the top, to be exact, when the heroes of Anal Ridge were taking one last stand against the Cultists. _'This is getting out of hand…'_

"Can we please calm down?" Ruby chided in, her small voice somehow managing to dissolve the argument before it even began. Maybe it was because no one wanted to shout at such an adorable girl. Maybe it was because yelling at Ruby would only end in punches from Yang. Whatever the reason, Sky and Blake stopped glaring at each other and turned to look at her. "I think you're all right. We have to do something, but right now we can't. This doesn't mean we won't do it in the future. We can't disobey Professor Goodwitch, especially not now that she's probably watching us very carefully. And Sky is right, there's still lots of stuff we can do it here, fun or no fun. We can plan what we'll do in the future for once. Improvisation is only a last resort method, a true strategist never goes anywhere without a plan and a backup plan."

"The Strategist 101, isn't it?" Sky asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Ruby blushed. "It's a good book…"

"It's literally ten pages of one-line sentences about strategists."

"Anyway! I think we should not go anywhere for the time being." Ruby hurried to continue to avoid any further embarrassment.

"Besides, if we volunteer to organize the dance, I'm sure Aunt Glynda will surely give us the responsibility, at the very least to keep us out of trouble." Jaune snapped his fingers as he got an idea. "We could also, _finally_ , start that accelerated training course you promised me halfway through the third week of the year!"

"So eager to be beaten into the ground, huh, little brother?" Yang grinned mischievously.

"Again with the little brother thing," sighed the poor poor boy. "No one signed any adoption, Yang, no one. I'm just Jaune _Arc_. Not _Arc Rose Xiao Long_ , okay?"

"Well, Jaune, didn't you say you were training with your aunt?" asked Ruby, a little confused. It wasn't because she was sure she'd be a terrible teacher and didn't want to accidentally kill Jaune during training, of course not, it was mere curiosity.

"Yes, but it's mainly Aura or Dust stuff, or about my Semblance. She almost never fights with weapons or martial arts, she just blasts everything with her Telekinesis, so she's not the best to teach me how to actually fight," he explained quickly, looking around as if fearing his aunt would pop out of the wardrobe and scold him for saying she couldn't fight. "You guys are all gung-ho about fighting… even though three of you often use their Semblances. Besides, you are the perfect ones to teach me. Sky can help me with Cauchemar's pike mode, Ruby with the scythe and the impossibly-placed guns, Yang with the katara and basic hand-to-hand, and Blake with the sword!"

 _'He's asking me to help him train with his_ _ **sword**_ _? Very generous…'_ Blake mentally purred before examining the boy and losing her interest. _'He's not my type though. I prefer them Faunus.'_

"What about the shield?" asked Sky. "Are you gonna ask Pyrrha?"

"Nah, how hard can using a shield be?" he shrugged nonchalantly. "You just put it between you and death and hope it works."

"You could learn how to throw it like a Frisbee," offered Yang.

"Or maybe we could add some gears to make the edge spin so it would become an awesome chainsaw shield!" Ruby exclaimed, all but gushing over it.

"No! No more Jaune-killing additions until I know how not to die when wielding it as it is," Jaune protested, making the crimsonette pout. "I don't need to throw it or to attack with it, okay? I need it to protect myself, no more. End of the story."

Said weapon was a… delicate object. One, it was made by Ruby, which made it instantly deadly no matter what form it currently was it. If Ruby were to craft a spoon, Jaune would be ready to believe it could eviscerate Grimm by waving it in front of them. Secondly, it was a very complex weapon. It could turn into a katara, a bastard sword, a pike, a bow and a scythe. Five forms. It also had not one, but _three_ guns in it, which were definitely overkill if one were to ask him. Thirdly, it had been his weapon for only a few weeks, which meant that while he was familiar with it, he was nowhere near mastering it. Fourthly and finally, it was wielded by one of the biggest masters of the holy art of clumsiness that existed on Remnant, which meant he was more likely to kill himself than anything or anyone within reach.

He _had_ to learn how to use it, but unfortunately not everyone was so keen on risking their heads to help him.

"But what about Torchwick?" asked Blake. "Are we just gonna let this go, like water flowing under the bridge of negligence, without doing anything to stop his evil?"

 _'Ninjas of Love Volume XLVII, Dick Day,'_ his scarred brain supplied him with. Chapter four, page thirty, third paragraph from the top. The noble Pussycat Faunus princess while she inspired her close group of female friends to fight evil in their birth outfit.

Why couldn't he just forget what that blasted sister of his put in her godforsaken books?

"I'm sure Ozpin and Goodwitch are doing something about it," Sky reassured her.

/-/

"Rook in F-6," Ozpin stated as he moved his right Rook, before he looked back at his computer and cleared his throat. "This one says _"Hello, Professor Ozpin,"_ blah blah blah, _"due to new information we've recently acquired,"_ blah blah blah, oh, here, _"we decided it might be better for the Beacon students to start wearing trackers, so for them to be always controlled."_ Blah blah blah, regards and goodbye."

"The Council didn't take well what happened at that interview, or after it, I imagine," commented Goodwitch, picking up her Knight and moving it two ahead and one to the right. "Knight in B-4."

"Rook in H-6." Ozpin moved that same Rook another two spaces. "I think I'll reply like this: _"Greetings, honourable Councilmen,"_ blah blah blah some pleasantries, _"while I would love nothing more than to keep track of all my students at all times like instructed in the Stalker 101, all their Scrolls already have a tracking and GPS function. However, most students either turn it off, or hack it in order to be untraceable. My students are not morons,"_ though that is a bold-faced lie, blah blah blah, _"But if you think you can do a better job than me at keeping hormonal teenagers gifted with superpowers and the skills to use them, please, I'd be happy to leave the position of Headmaster of Beacon Academy to you."_ Regards, blah blah blah. Is it too snappy?"

"I think it's a bit too snappy, but you can play it off as being overworked and stressed because of the media," suggested the woman, using her Bishop to capture Ozpin's Pawn. "Bishop in B-2."

"Which would be too far from the truth anyway," nodded the man, signing and then sending the message. Then he moved his King to the left. "King in A-7."

"Queen in B-5," Goodwitch smiled as she moved the powerful piece up the chessboard, placing it just a tad too far from the King for a check.

"Oh, listen to this one. _"The news are right hunters are just monsters in disguise who want to rule the world and think they are above the law and the people and don't care about anything but themselves money and power they should all be exterminated as it'd be much better if the Grimm were to rule at least they don't try to deceive people into thinking they are heroes while they are just a bunch of murderers thieves and monsters. Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you so very much Ozpin."_." Ozpin chuckled at the poor grammar and the evident idiocy of whoever wrote it. "Another cultist who thinks the Grimm would spare humanity because they are just misunderstood… it kinda reminds me of Ms Belladonna's opinion of the White Fang."

"But the White Fang aren't soulless monsters whose only goal in life is to wipe out the entirety of humanity off the face of the planet," she pointed out.

"Remove the 'soulless monsters' and replaced it with 'fanatical idiots' and you'll have a description that fits a good slice of that organization," he replied evenly, tapping away at his computer. "Oh, James seems to be coming for the dance. He asks if you are still without a date."

"Ozpin, you're gonna be my date for the dance."

"I shall inform James that, unfortunately, we had no foreseen his choice to arrive here early and thus we chose to formally go to the dance together to be able to keep an eye on the students while also enjoying some dances," nodded the man, and she nodded back in confirmation to the lie… which wasn't a total lie, but whatever. "Should I lessen the blow somehow?"

"Tell him a blew him off and I wish he could just have a seizure or whatever his metal-filled brain is capable of having," she spat harshly. "If he were to ask me for a dance…"

"You're gonna dance with him even if just to keep up appearances," replied Ozpin. "The world doesn't need to know what happened between you two. _I_ don't need to be dragged into your little drama. So you will dance with him, then beat him senseless once the dance is over. Is that clear?"

Goodwitch sighed and nodded dejectedly. "Yes sir."

"Good. Oh, and by the way… Rook in H-8. Checkmate."

 _ **I told you the curse of the Ninjas of Love wasn't over! Haha! The perversion won't be stopped so easily! Blake has memorized all those books... and unfortunately for him, so has Jaune.**_


	24. Harsh Methods

Yang Xiao Long was a girl on several missions that, in the end, could be counted as one complex mission. Her goal? Simple, get all her friends some dates to the dance, of course!

Ren and Nora would be easy enough to set up. The two were basically already engaged, and the only thing they needed was a little push. That is, if they hadn't already asked each other out and be done with that. She wouldn't put it past them to be all so dense and oblivious and then go to the dance as each other's date.

Speaking of the dance, she was still appalled that the organization had gone as well as it had. Apparently they had been the only team to volunteer, whatever the reason. Weiss had stopped by a couple of times, but otherwise Yang had been the organizer. The only complaint she had about that was that despite her authority regarding the dance, Goodwitch had still thrown her fog machines out of the window. Of course, her dear teammates should've helped her, but since when those four knew anything about having fun at a party?

Anyway, returning to speak about the pairs for the dance, she had also seen Weiss being somewhat infatuated with some coolness-obsessed azure-haired tomboy. She guessed that pair had no need for her helping hand, but being careful was always better than leaving things to chance.

Pyrrha… she honestly didn't know who to pair her up with. She'd come up with something when she had the need to.

For Blake, she'd seen a monkey Faunus called Sun, a friend of Weiss's crush, looking at her with longing. Now, while she usually would punch a stranger's teeth right off for staring at her friends, she somewhat knew the guy, since the blue-haired guy sometimes dropped by the ballroom to see how the preparations for the dance were going, and Sun went with him. Also, Sun was ripped, which made him slightly more okay in her books. And he was a Faunus. If there was anyone better suited than him to ask Blake to the dance, well, Yang didn't know them.

And finally, Ruby and Jaune. Those two wouldn't really be a problem. They had already gone on their first date, and despite still being awkward around each other whenever the topic came up, they were close friends and even if they didn't go to the dance as each other's date, they'd probably spend the whole event with each other as friends. Yang somewhat envied them. Usually, being so awkward dating someone would result in that awkwardness spreading to all their interactions, but it seemed like Jaune and Ruby weren't like that – and who knew why or how, since they were pretty much always awkward.

As for the dance itself, she had already gotten prepared. Some slow songs for those who wanted them, not overly difficult to follow the rhythm of but romantic, and some more upbeat ones to get the adrenaline starting. Despite being blonde, Yang wasn't stupid. She knew what a party needed and she knew what couples needed, so that no matter if the participants were with friends or dates, they could have a great time.

There were of course other couples in the school who would go to the dance together, but they weren't her business. So what if Coco and Velvet _might_ go to the dance together? They weren't on her list of friends, so she didn't have time to play matchmaker – and besides, they didn't need any outside help. Same went for all the other couples. After all, despite all her awesomeness, Yang was still just one person, she didn't have nearly enough time to send every couple in Beacon to the dance together.

Anyway, first order of business for the day were Ren and Nora.

Years and years of carefully built denial versus incredibly powerful love. She had devised a devilish plan. Which could be summed up as 'let Fate run its course'. Yeah, she didn't really know how to handle childhood-friends romance. So she'd just taken Nora aside for a few minutes to explain everything to her and tell her to just go for it. Who knew if that plan had succeeded.

Second came Weiss and Neptune. Both had shown interest toward each other and no moral issues like long-time friendship, which was a very good sign. She barely had to tell Weiss to ask him out, since the heiress already wanted to do so. She couldn't exactly call it a plan at all.

Blake and Sun had been quite different. After what had happened at the docks, Blake was torn between feeling guilty for what she'd done, and frustrated no one had been looking for the White Fang any more. She would've liked to say she'd talked her into learning how to relax, but unfortunately that had not been the case. What had happened had just been Yang shamelessly guilt-tripping Blake into going to the dance, and suggesting to ask Sun to be her date just to make it a little less lonely. Who knew if that girl would actually go through that.

Last but surely not least was her masterpiece, Ruby and Jaune. True, the two of them had already gone on a date, but who cared? If she had the chance to play matchmaker, she'd use it! Besides, it wasn't like she actually had any plan for any of couples. It was mainly just telling them to do it and hope it would work. Not the best part, in hindsight, but she had never been one to think her plans through. Straightforward was better.

However, Ruby and Jaune _were_ technically dating, or at least they'd been on a date, so they _had_ to go to the dance together. The only problem was that Yang had absolutely no idea what to do with them. If she were to tell them directly, they'd chicken out as soon as they saw the other. If she tried to force them in an embarrassingly close situation, three things would happen. One, they'd be awkward as hell for a while. Two, they'd just free themselves without considering the -wink wink- _other options_ , like talking or even kissing. And three, it might put a strain on their relationship, since it was so new still.

She could try to annoy them into asking each other out by pestering them all day long, but it probably wouldn't work. Besides, she wasn't stupid – she knew that if she _forced_ them to go to the dance together, they wouldn't enjoy the party and things would get awkward between the two of them.

It was a real mess. Thankfully not all her friends were so hard to figure out.

She glanced down at the Scroll in her hands.

 _Yang Xiao Long, 30 min ago: you. me. dance._

 _Sky Lark, 30 min ago: I yield._

Good boy.

/-/

Cinder Fall was feeling content as she rapped her knuckles on the door, a stark contrast to how she'd been feeling recently, with everything going wrong for Roman and, most importantly, that stupid videogame-programming hobby Watts had taken up.

Her plans were going smoothly – or as smoothly as plans could go with all those problems. She wasn't worried about the children, but mostly at how quickly and efficiently Ozpin had diverted the media's attention from his own shortcomings to a mere prison break. Oh, sooner or later he'd have to suffer another interview, but it wouldn't be so hard now that the students knew just how easily media could tear into people.

Salem wouldn't be disappointed in what she'd done thus far. So why not take it a notch further?

The door swung open to reveal Roman Torchwick himself, glowering at her but knowing better than to annoy her. He didn't have any cigar in sight – good, because that smell was so annoying last time she'd burned it to a crisp.

He groaned. "What now? Do I need to storm Vacuo and grab as much sand and silver as I can so you can melt it and make yourself a thousand mirrors? Or maybe I should just steal a yacht and a piece of the ocean for you to use as pool?"

And there went her good mood. However, she didn't scowl. She was above such pettiness. Instead, she just barely narrowed her eyes as she stared at the exasperated thief. "My, my, my, how much anger… you should learn how to relax, Roman. We wouldn't want the Grimm to come after you, now, would we?"

She could easily see that Torchwick was doing everything he could not to snap at her and scream in frustration. "Angry? Jeez, I wonder how that could've happened. After all, I'm not running ragged for a plan not my own where my own benefit is my own survival – and that's honestly a bit optimistic, given how risky the plan is and how much you love threatening me and my employees."

A brief flash of annoyance passed through her eyes, but she ignored it in favour of the man before her. "Roman, I wouldn't have to threaten you if you just behaved and stopped failing so much…"

"Failing? _Failing?_ " he repeated, incredulous. "I am a thief, not a warrior nor a murderer or an assassin, even if sometimes people get killed during my heists. I _steal_ , I don't _fight_. It's not my fault if those kids showed up and wrecked everything. If you wanted me to fight, you should've taught me like you've taught those two ass-kissers of yours."

Her anger flared for a second. Teach them? She'd never lower herself to teach those two failures. They had already known how to fight without her having to do anything. She had just taken some ripe fighters to use as her pawns. She didn't _teach_ , she _used_. "Mercury and Emerald have not been trained by me, Roman. And neither will you."

Torchwick huffed, irritated, but didn't comment on that any further. Instead, he addressed the elephant in the room – the fact she'd sought him out at all. "What's the occasion anyway? You usually meet me while I'm working or call me."

Cinder smiled as her irritation slowly disappeared, like a dying fire. "Roman, I thought you'd know better than most – calls are not secure. And you're always so serious and fretting over your deadlines when we meet at work…"

"For a reason," he grumbled. "Your _dead_ lines really live up to their name!"

Her lips curled up even more. He hadn't meant it as a compliment, but to her it surely was. It meant she could make him squirm like the pathetic worm he was as he hurried to try and satisfy her every whim because he was too afraid of her to protest. How heartwarming. "Now, Roman, is that any way to treat your employer? It's thanks to me you've had such an increase in fame."

"One, you're not my employer since I'm not being paid a single Lien," the thief rebutted angrily, still somehow having the guts not to step aside and let her enter, which she found really annoying. "And two, I'm a damn _thief_ , if you haven't noticed. The spotlight is not good for me."

"You claim to be the best – it shouldn't be a problem," she retorted sweetly, flaring up a hand to scare him into letting her enter, which he did.

His office was just like she remembered. Plain, unassuming, with a couple of black couches and a coffee table – perfect to fool cops. Who would ever think _Roman flipping Torchwick_ conducted business in such a boringly normal place?

She sat on a couch and extinguished the flame in her hand. "Anyway, Roman, I have news for you – it's time to start moving onto Phase Two."

The criminal shut the door and very angrily stomped over to the other couch, dropping unceremoniously onto it. "Finally! I was starting to wonder if you even _had_ a Phase Two in your plan."

Again, her anger flared. How _dared_ he make such assumptions?! She was a yet-to-be-recognized Goddess descented upon Remnant to wreathe it in flames and watch it burn before subjugating the surviving vermins and let herself be worshipped like she so rightfully deserved! And that- that- that _lowly scumbag back-stabbing lying good-for-nothing petty thief_ thought he could just casually insult her as such?!

Her eyes blazed. Torchwick had just turned his chances of surviving her plan to ashes. She'd kill him herself if he were to come out alive after Beacon fell.

However, for the time being, she couldn't bother to do menial work such as organizing and making sure everything went smoothly, too busy fooling Ozpin at Beacon – where she'd be headed as soon as she was done with that criminal. So she'd have to keep him alive – just to complete her plan, and nothing else.

Fighting down her fury, she managed to continue. "My plan is complete already. I just didn't want to worry that small brain of yours with the whole, complicated scheme. Now, are you going to comment more, or are you going to _listen_?" She summoned a small fireball to point out how the correct answer was the second.

Predictably enough, the man stayed silent.

Cinder wanted to scoff. People. They were worms that needed to be put in their place – under her heel. He didn't even have enough backbone to talk back and retort, did he? What a pathetic piece of trash. And then he called her lackey 'kiss-ass'? When he couldn't even find it in himself to even just stare at her in the eyes and make a cheeky comment?

He disgusted her. So weak, so feeble-willed. A Goddess such as her shouldn't have had to interact with an insect like him, but unfortunately Salem had told her to stick to the plan and not kill him unless strictly necessary, and she respected Salem too much to disobey just out of disgust.

Of course, Salem was below her as well – but the knowledge that the woman had stood up to Gods, rallied people against them, and found both immortality and power over the Grimm as reward for her tenacity… well, she could say that Salem was the only one worthy of speaking with her, Cinder Fall, the Goddess of Fire and future Supreme Queen of Remnant!

"Good to know we agree on something," Cinder hid her contempt as she stopped the fire in her hand – though she'd probably set his office on fire when she exited. He had to be punished somehow. "The plan is simple. You have to load a train with Dust, under Mt Glenn, and then send it hurtling into the walled railways under Vale. As you go, you'll decouple the bombed wagons and make them blow up, so to attract the Grimm into the tunnels and eventually into Vale – causing mass panic and mass slaughter. Then you'll allow Ironwood and his stupid army to capture you. And you will wait until I'll send Neo with the final part of the plan. Is that clear?"

"It's also stupid, moronic, inane, asinine, imbecilic, demented and idiotic," he grumbled to himself, so softly even she couldn't hear – though she had a good hunch as to what he'd said either way. Then he looked at her. "Cinder, this is never going to work. And why would you even want mass panic and mass slaughter in Vale anyway?!"

"Because I told you to do it, so you _will do it!_ " Her patience finally boiling over, Cinder stood up, towering over the still seated criminal. Oh, how she wished she could just torch him alongside his stupid office, his stupid hideout, his stupid fucking entire city! She'd gladly burn Vale to the ground, and she planned to… but she forced herself to wait.

Glaring at him, she stomped out of the room, not deigning him of another glance, as she flicked her hand and set the couch on fire. It was disgusting anyway, so she was even doing him a favour.

That pathetic, ungrateful son of a bitch.

/-/

Ozpin considered all he knew about his enemies, which was pretty much nothing. How had he allowed them to get away with so much? They knew everything about him, while he knew nothing about them.

Of course, most of that was to blame on his choice to be Headmaster of Beacon, a well-known and respected figure in the world's politics, while Salem's pawns worked in the shadows, unknown and unseen.

Sure, he had a few agents as well… but pathetically well-known as well. The Deputy Headmistress of Beacon, Atlas's General and Headmaster, Shade's Headmaster, Haven's Headmaster, and one of the most skilled and famous Hunters in the world. Not exactly people who could stay under the radar for long.

Vale's most wanted was surely a known figure, but one who could easily stay under the radar if so he wished. The White Fang were a bit more complicated – and he still didn't know how in the world the police couldn't find such a huge terrorist organization, or even just a cell or two. Were they so incompetent?

He sighed. So much to do, so little information.

 _Ding_.

Looking up, Ozpin immediately wished for a cup of his personal coffee and hid a grimace. James Ironwood strode into the room with his usual strict and disciplined pace, though he offered the Headmaster a small smile in greeting.

A smile he forced himself to return even though he didn't want to. James wasn't a bad person by any mean, but he didn't fancy telling him 'we got nothing to work on'. The General never took well such news. "James. I hope you had a pleasant journey."

"Nothing to worry about," he replied, shaking the older man's hand. "It's good to see you again. How are things here in Beacon? I've heard… rumours… about a certain team who got into trouble."

Ozpin sighed. Of course he'd know about that. "Yes. Team ARBYL. I am more than certain that our enemies organized this. That team has not one but _two_ Silver Eyed warriors, James. I would normally expel a team with such a scandal pending over their heads, but if we were to expel them, the Queen's pawns would track them down and kill them immediately."

Ironwood seemed doubtful, but didn't question his arguments, and it was a good thing since he had no other argument. And besides, with James, one always had to be strict and quick to the point.

"Still, how are you planning to solve the scandal?" Ironwood asked, exasperated. "It won't die down unless they are punished. You distracted them, but not for long."

"Soon after the dance, the students will receive their first missions," Ozpin confided with a slight smirk. "And while they are busy, Glynda and I will take on this problem ourselves – and since when Glynda can't solve any problem?"

"A solid plan, I see," nodded the General. "Oh, and about Glynda-"

"We weren't aware of your coming," he lied smoothly. "She and I are going together. Though as far as I'm aware, Bart still has not companion. Would you like to accompany him?"

Ironwood's glare was more than worth it. "It's not the time for jokes, Ozpin. What are you planning to do with our enemies?"

And there it was. The dreaded question. Ozpin sighed. "You were right, James. Salem rules discretion. If we act, we need to act and use our advantages, not play her game and lose because of our weaknesses. Have you brought your army with you?"

Normally, such a question would've sent the General on a proud rant on how he always brought his army with him, but he knew Ozpin, and Ozpin would've never asked him such a question. "Where does my army fit in this, Ozpin?"

The Headmaster rose to look his friend in the eyes. "You were right. Discreet isn't working. We can't work in the shadows if Salem already rules there. We need to use our strengths – connections, power, wealth, influence, troops. Even if it means proving there _is_ something people should worry about." It was a hard decision and he knew many would never forgive him for it, but he had to act. "I want to ask you to hunt down the White Fang. Use lethal force if needed. After what happened at the docks, I cannot turn a blind eye to it any longer. All the Dust thefts must've had a reason to happen. And the White Fang is clearly involved. If we take out their main troop force, we can cripple them long enough to come up with another counter-action."

If Ironwood was surprised by his order, he didn't show it. "What made you change your mind?"

Ozpin could only give a small, helpless shrug. "Several reasons. But the most important was the realization that my students had done a better job than me at fighting the White Fang. I dismissed it as a mere terrorist organization, and instead they were on Salem's side. I had to do something, especially since it's clear they have fed the information to the media to discredit them and make them more vulnerable."

Again, blunt honesty was sometimes the best way to go with the cyborg-like man. "If you declare the peace over, Ozpin, you know you won't be able to stop until the war ends, right?"

"The war has already started – I just didn't want to see it until now," confessed the Headmaster. "And we can't continue to do nothing, or we'll be tricked and then defeated before we can even realize what's going on. It has to be done."

"How should I justify the intervention?" asked the General, knowing that even he couldn't just start moving his army around Vale without a reason.

"Current charges are theft, destruction of public and private property, terrorism, kidnapping, murder, attempt of mass murder, unprovoked assault and unauthorized occupation," Ozpin replied gravely. "They should be enough to justify their capture and imprisonment."

"The Faunus community won't like this," Ironwood warned him, even though he was already aware of that.

"The Faunus community has been okay with part of them committing horrid crimes against petty racists but they will always speak up against fighting the White Fang, calling us oppressors and human supremacists," he gritted his teeth, knowing fully well just how messed up minds were regarding the racism. "I don't see how doing this would change anything."

Funny thing was, the White Fang never tried a direct approach against the SDC. Apparently, for all their claims and shouts, they didn't really want to fight their oppressors – just everyone else and be the biggest fish in a pond of tadpoles, instead of facing the crocodiles next door.

Nodding, Ironwood farewelled him and turned to leave, his Scroll already up to call his Specialists. "I won't fail you, Ozpin. I'll keep you informed."

"Thank you," replied the Headmaster, not even sure if the man had heard him.

/-/

Ruby Rose was having a good day, especially since she was currently watching an anime she really liked. It was about a group of teenagers called Garnet Rouge, River Freeze, Nero Belluomo and Taichi Solong. The four boys made up Team GRNT, Garnet, with said person as leader. It was funny to see just how crazy all their shenanigans were, especially if one counted their bitter enemies, the team right across the hall from them, Team STRN -Saturn-, composed of Sunny Bend, Thor Bonecrusher, Roy Al Athena and Deceive Ner.

The opening and closing of the door shook her from the epic food battle that was going on between the two teams and look at who had just entered. As it turned out, it was Yang, and she didn't look very pleased either. Pausing the video on her Scroll, she sat up on her bed. "Something's wrong, sis?"

"Aside from the fact I've spent the last hour basically strong-arming and guilt-tripping Blake into going to the dance because she thought that relaxing was below her?" the blonde snorted, sarcastically of course. "Other than that, nothing's wrong. It's just perfect! Also, next time I see Neptune I'm strangling him until he turns the same colour as his hair."

"What did he do?" Ruby asked, though she knew Yang needed very little to start trying to murder people – not like she'd actually kill them, only seriously rough them up.

"He rejected Weiss, that's what he did!" she growled.

Ruby just shrugged. "Yeah, and? People can have their opinions and if he didn't want to go with Weiss, what's the problem?"

"That's not the point, he should've let her down gently, not just blow her off without a care in the world," she retorted, obviously very angry. "You don't do that to someone who just had the courage to ask you out!"

"Well, honestly, Weiss kind of had it coming," Ruby replied, still not seeing what the big deal was. Yang started at her, incredulous. "I mean, Weiss had people ask her to the dance and one of her kindest responses was to slam the door in their face. She kind of deserves that after being so harsh."

"It's not about Weiss, it's about Neptune!" Yang protested heatedly. "He shouldn't have done that!"

"Weiss can complain about that once she starts being more gentle to strangers herself," Ruby continued, unaware of how merciless she sounded. "I'm not saying Neptune _should_ have done that, I'm just saying it's not so surprising that the 'Ice Queen' found out not everyone was ready to kiss the ground where she walked."

Still incredulous and angry, Yang shook her head at her. "I'm seriously gonna need to teach you how not to be so socially awkward, because that's bordering on socially stumped," she grumbled. "Anyway, where are the others?"

"Sky said something about his doom having arrived at last and went out to enjoy his last days on Remnant," Ruby relied flatly, returning to lay on her bed and de-pausing the video. "Blake's in the library, obviously. Jaune said he was going to train a little."

"Good, because I'd like to have a word with you," nodded Yang, acting serious for once.

Confused, Ruby paused the video once again, not even ten seconds after starting it, and turned to look at Yang. "What about?"

Knowing it would be a hard topic to broach, Yang took a deep breath. "Look, I know this may sound really confusing for you, but I wanted to know if you wanted to ask Jaune to the dance or not, since you two have been on a date – and it went well for all I've been told. So I've been wondering if you two were up to take it a step further – like a date to the dance."

Ruby's eyebrows rose slightly. "Yang…"

"No, please, don't interrupt me," Yang stopped her, thrusting out an open hand. "I need to finish this. Ruby, I know I've always been against you dating and this is why Jaune had to give you The Talk instead of me. I never wanted you to have anything to do with romance until you were much older, because I've committed some mistakes and I know that your first dating experiences are often the ones you'll remember the most. So I wanted you to have good experiences instead of… well, you know… jerks as boyfriends or girlfriends – I'm not judging your preferences."

"Yang…" Ruby tried again, blushing.

"So I know that this must be extremely confusing for you, but I want to help you, and I _will_ help you. I want to give you advice and I want to give Jaune advice on how to treat you, since you're so inexperienced. Not that he isn't, but he is a bit more socially aware than you are, even if no less awkward," the blonde continued. "I'm gonna help you understand what things are okay, how to react to certain feelings, and even how to cope with jealousy in case some other student takes a liking to Jaune. I just really don't want you to-What is this?"

Keeping her Scroll pressed against her sister's face, Ruby snorted. "Read it."

Blinking, Yang took the Scroll from her hands and looked at it. The video's tab had been either closed or minimized to make space for her Call Unified Network for Trainees, or CUNT for short – yeah, once again Beacon's horrible naming habits had made the acronym a common joke among the students. She glanced at the messages.

 _Ruby Rose, 2h ago: By the way, are you taking anyone to the dance?_

 _Jaune Arc_ _Rose Xiao Long_ _, 2h ago: I was thinking on asking you, since, you know…_

 _Ruby Rose, 2h ago: Good, I wanted to go with you anyway. No one else understands what it is to be socially awkward…_

 _Jaune Arc_ _Rose Xiao Long_ _, 2h ago: Okay, but beware because I actually like to dance. You don't have to if you don't want, but I'm most probably going to dance if I get the chance._

Yang blinked. All her worries… and then those two had actually already asked each other out. While she was happy she didn't have to come up with any harebrained idea to get them to ask each other to the dance, Yang was also quite irritated by the fact she hadn't even been told, like…

She glanced at Ruby. "Ruby, this is your first relationship, _right?_ "

"Of course it is, you never allowed anyone near me!" protested Ruby, pouting at the injustice.

Damn, her sister was a natural at dating! …except for her awkwardness, of course. She'd have to _beg_ Jaune not to ever let her go because that little missy was ready to become a gentlemen's woman – in her mind, the female version of a ladies' man.

Rolling her eyes, she wiped the screen to continue reading the chat before Ruby violently impacted her midriff, throwing herself at her sister. "No! Don't read further!"

Okay, that was probably the wrong thing to say to an older sibling such as Yang. With a grin, the blonde held the Scroll up where Ruby couldn't reach it. "What? What is there that you don't want me to know?" She faked a little gasp. "You haven't been sending each other pics in state of undress, have you?"

"What?! No!" Ruby almost faltered in her assault at the accusation, blushing right to the roots of her hair.

Yang chuckled and stole a glance at the actual contents of the chat before she froze, allowing Ruby to snatch the Scroll and run out of the door, trying to put as much space as she could between her and her sister.

Rage slowly built up within the blonde as her eyes turned red and her hair caught fire. That was far worse than naked pics. That confirmed her worst fears, fears she'd never wanted to see confirmed. And worse still, Ruby had been the one to initiate it! She'd been the one to convince Jaune to perform such an immoral act!

"RUBY!" she bellowed, chasing after her not-so-innocent sister. "YOU ASKED JAUNE TO TEACH YOU HOW TO CHEAT AT VIDEOGAMES!?"


	25. Villainous Talk

_**Hello everyone! After what? 3 months? A bit more? I am finally back with An Extension of the Soul. No students today, they are headaches I'll deal with later, mwahahaha. Hope you enjoy, because this is a BIG chapter, plotwise. Gotta have some plot now and then.**_

 _Beeeeeep_.

 _Beeeeeep_.

 _Beeeeeep_.

Ozpin accepted the call at the third ring while he savoured a mug of his favourite coffee in his right hand. "Ah, James. To what do I owe the pleasure? I thought you'd be busy with your… _our_ new program."

 _"And that is exactly why I called, Ozpin. I am proud to announce that we've managed to capture a White Fang member in Vale while he was trying to flee to Vacuo. He is the owner of Tukson's Book Store. I thought I'd let you know we're making progress already."_

Which was basically his way of rubbing it in his face that his methods were working and much faster than Ozpin's. Still, if that meant getting actual results, he could take some nabs at his pride. After all, there was a saying about changing methods: _if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten_.

Ozpin had tried to change methods a few times, but not for quite a while – it was always the routine of sending Qrow to look for information, then try to counter Salem once she did something.

It didn't really work well.

"Well, then I'm sure you will be able to get something out of him. Anything else?"

 _"Well, I might've traumatized two of your transfer students… Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. They were speaking with Tukson when we broke in, armed, to arrest him. They were quite shocked."_

Ozpin sighed. "While I am not happy, I can't say you did wrong. Tukson is a dangerous terrorist – you might've saved those students' lives."

 _"You're not mad? Ahem, I mean, yes, thank you. I just thought of informing you since they are currently under your jurisdiction as foreign students in Beacon."_ Ironwood's voice was basically oozing pride and self-satisfaction.

He'd allow it, at least for the time being. Ironwood was doing a good job. "What about the terrorist, Tukson? What are you going to do about him?"

 _"Specialist Schnee is interrogating him as we speak, Ozpin. She will find out everything we need."_

/-/

"For the last time, I'm a deserter! I left the White Fang! I wanted to escape to Vacuo to flee from the White Fang!" Tukson exclaimed for what seemed like the millionth time.

"You do not fool me, you criminal," Winter Schnee retorted coldly, fully living up to the nickname of Ice Queen given to her by the soldiers. "We know you are a member of the White Fang. Tell us where your 'brothers' are hiding!"

/-/

"That's good to hear," nodded Ozpin. He felt nothing but respect toward the eldest Schnee daughter. If anyone could get something out of a dangerous Faunus extremist, it was her. "Anything else?"

 _"Nothing at the moment, but I'll keep you informed, Ozpin."_ After a few seconds, almost as an afterthought, he added, _"You did the right thing letting me step in, Oz. Don't worry yourself too much, and try to focus on what's the next step going to be."_

"Thank you James." He was thankful indeed. Ironwood might've been a bit too formal for his tastes, like Qrow was over-the-top, but he had his heart in the right place, and really meant that. "It's been a while since I last was delegated to High Councillor instead of being the leader. It's refreshing to leave the responsibility to someone else for a change."

 _"Don't worry, I got this. I'll disband the White Fang as soon as I can, and then we can focus on Salem's pawns."_

He really hoped that was the case. Because if their plan failed, then there would be hell to pay for everyone involved.

"Thank you again, James. I wish you luck with your mission, and keep me informed. I fear paperwork is due now, though. I'll call you tomorrow."

 _"Good luck to you too, Oz, you'll need it. Oh, and do you think that if I do well Glynda will-"_

Ozpin hung up.

/-/

Roman Torchwick would be the first to admit he didn't particularly find Faunus to be pleasant company.

People called him racist for that.

Roman Torchwick would also be the first to admit he didn't particularly find _humans_ to be pleasant company.

People called him asshole for that.

He never really understood people anyway.

However, he understood criminals. He understood them all too well – he was one of the best himself.

People thought criminals to be all the same, but he knew better. For example, the three Faunus he was playing cards with were three different kinds of criminal.

On his right, the large Bernard Hein, a huge White Fang member nicknamed Banesaw due to his skill with his chosen weapon, a chainsaw named Steelteeth. Not the most creative, but yet again the guy wasn't a Hunter – he didn't really care about his weapon like most Hunter did. He'd just named it to humour his fellow White Fang members. He kind of looked like a Beacon student he'd seen in the last Vytal Festival, some Yatchu-something Dammit or whatever.

On his left, the moody and broody Adam Taurus, the only jackass who could wear a mask while playing _Remnant, the Game_. He was the kind of man who raged on and on on the battlefield and while planning, and then could take a defeat at cards with style. Also, he was the last person you'd think would know the rules, and of course he instead knew them. If Torchwick wasn't wrong, he was also a pedophile, since he constantly referred some girl as 'my love' even though she was a first year in Beacon.

Sitting right across him was Deery, or rather Cailín Álainn, a very pretty deer Faunus who, other than being pretty and good at playing, hadn't done anything to stand out yet, other than being the only one up to playing out of the whole White Fang, who all considered themselves too cool and serious for games.

All three had different reasons for what they were doing.

Taurus was a typical 'Divine Avenger Against Humans' type of extremist criminal. He had some kind of grudge and acted out on it.

Hein, or Banesaw as Torchwick got used to calling him, was different. He firmly believed that the White Fang stood for justice, and that the SDC had to pay. He often got in arguments with Taurus since he didn't believe terrorism would change much unless it was specifically targeted to the ones responsible for Faunus discrimination.

Deery was another matter altogether. She knew that terrorism wouldn't really help the Faunus, which made her smarter than more than half the White Fang by itself, but she stayed because she didn't want to face the law on her own. If he had understood correctly, she'd once killed some guy beating a Faunus on accident, had been labelled a murderer and had been on the run ever since. Basically, someone forced to become a criminal. She still hated racism with all her heart and had no problem fighting, but she didn't approve of using violence to fight violence. It was like fighting fire by throwing oil on it.

And then there was Torchwick himself – devilish handsome criminal mastermind who had worked his ass off to become Vale's top dog. Reasons pretty much forgotten, to be honest.

Also the kind-hearted criminal who had freed the Faunus miners from their prisons. He felt bile rising in his throat at the mere thought. A single visit to the mines had all but vaporized his racism, and soon the habit of calling Faunus 'animals' had all but disappeared. Just when he thought humanity couldn't sink any lower than they already had.

His traitorous brain brought up the image of a little mouse Faunus boy with the SDC logo branded with fire over his face, apparently just because he'd stolen some bread for his little brother. Torchwick felt like throwing up.

That boy never knew, but the house his family received was _not_ a gift from the White Fang, nor was the surgeon who managed to turn the brand into normal scar tissue.

Torchwick shook his head and focused on the game in front of him once again.

He sighed as Taurus stubbornly attacked Banesaw's troops for the third time despite knowing he could just play more.

"That's your eleventh sigh, Torchwick," the large man noted as he removed some of his cards.

"How nice of you to count them," the redhead snorted sarcastically. Deery snorted, trying not to laugh. She always did that whenever someone quipped sarcastically. Maybe it was some kind of nervous tic. "I just got a visit earlier."

"Neo?" guessed Taurus, a little smug at having destroying three of Banesaw's five troops.

"Cinder."

All three of them groaned in perfect unison. "That bitch again?" the bull Faunus spat, his good mood ruined.

"Let me guess, she threatened you into doing what she wanted without telling you anything but what you need to do." Deery hit the nail right on the head.

"No, I'm sure dear Cinder paid him a visit just to ensure he didn't work himself too hard," Banesaw snorted, which resulting in Deery bursting out laughing.

Yeah, probably some kind of nervous tic. It was kinda endeerying.

Ugh, he was turning into Taiyang Xiao Long from his time at Beacon…

"Usual. Come in, death threat, sit down, death threat, orders, death threat, death threat because I commented, death threat, leaves, sets my office on fire," Torchwick summed everything up with a scoff before gritting his teeth as Deery, who played after Taurus, destroyed one of his troops in Vacuo. "Did I miss something?"

"Death threat before come in?" Banesaw offered in a deadpan voice, making Deery laugh again.

"Oh, right." Torchwick sighed. Honestly, working with Cinder had made him re-evaluate his opinion of Faunus with how bitchy she was. "She's like scabies. Gets under your skin like nothing else, and is damn hard to get rid of."

"That's… actually a pretty good description of her," nodded Banesaw.

"Thanks." Roman almost spat out his cigar when Deery pulled a dick move and wiped out everyone's troops, including her own, before playing another card to resurrect three of her troops, and then playing a card which made her draw three cards if she was the strongest military power around. That was one hell of a move. "What the hell?!"

"Oh come on, it's not like I just won," she smirked, blue eyes twinkling with amusement at playing the master player.

Of course, he was careful not to let anyone know he could win in his next turn no matter what, but he was a criminal mastermind who had had years of time to get used to cheating. Deery had just joined the White Fang – as lucky as she was, luck was nothing compared to skill.

Speaking of skill reminded him of a certain blue-eyed blonde guy he'd had the pleasure to meet before the Beacon semester started. Ah, that had certainly been some true skill. He, the great Roman Torchwick, hadn't even noticed he was cheating until he rolled eight 6 in a row! And all he'd costed that loss, had been some stupid transcripts for Beacon since the guy couldn't fight.

He probably splattered on the ground during Initiation. If he hadn't, well, he had his Scroll number and a favour he could ask him.

He shook himself before narrowing his eyes at Deery. "I'm gonna make sure you don't," he promised darkly, glowering at the empty space where his soldiers once were. "Banesaw, your turn."

"Call me Hein, Banesaw sounds too cruel to be civil," Banesaw sighed. He was a monster in combat, but honestly, he was pretty lazy outside of battle. Sure, he did his work, but other than that he didn't have any hobby or anything. He just lazed around until someone told him to do something. It didn't exactly paint the picture of the extremist, dark overlord Torchwick had initially seen him as.

"Sure, your turn Banesaw."

Let it never be said Torchwick couldn't be annoying when he wanted to.

The man sighed exaggeratedly, especially after Deery snickered at the criminal's comment.

However, Torchwick saw through it this time.

She was fooling them into thinking she was an airhead.

Wow, he'd never thought he'd say it, but he was impressed. With a _Faunus_. She seemed to be by far the smartest he'd ever met.

After all, who cared for things like IQ when being skilled at playing came into play?

Argh! He really hated Taiyang for teaching him how to pun.

Somewhere in Patch, Tai sneezed violently before shaking his head and going back to planning Ruby and Jaune's marriage.

"I use Mistral's special bonus _Knowledge_ to play _One-Month Truce_. Thanks to _Knowledge_ , I get to draw a card for every troop or Grimm this cards affects, up to five draws… which is three since I'm healing all troops from all damage," Banesaw basically wasted a card since Deery's were the only troops in the game now, and they had no damage. "Then I play _Hunter Rankings_ , which allows me to play any Hunter card in my hand as long as I reveal two more Hunters with higher ranks. As you can see I have a rank two and two rank four. I play the rank two."

He placed a small Hunter troop on the battlefield before continuing. "Then I activate _Scourge of Grimm_. As for its effect, I sacrifice a troop – the only one I have. This allows me to create X Grimm of rank Y, with X being the number of troops that died since my last turn and Y being the lowest rank of those troops. Since Torchwick had a _Failed Hunter_ at rank zero, I can only place small Grimm – Skitter swarms." He placed fifteen 0-rank Grimm on the battlefield, three in Torchwick's and Taurus's territories, and nine in Deery's, who frowned. Banesaw smiled before closing in for the kill. "Now I play _Grimm Evolution_. I discard two Hunter cards with the same rank – four. All the Grimm whose rank is lower than that gain one rank for every card I discarded. Which means, all those Grimm are now at rank two – Ursai."

He smirked, his turn having ended.

It was Torchwick's. "You know, I was thinking, you guys are pretty good at this – what's the objective of the game? Rule the world, right? If so, then why the players have Grimm cards? Shouldn't they be self-generating?" Torchwick shook his head. It wasn't the time for frivolousness. "Anyway, I play _Risky Trade_. Each player chooses a card from their hand, either the lowest in rank or the highest and reveals them. If you choose the lowest, you lose half of your resources. If you choose the highest, you draw a card. Either way, then the players have to give that card to the player to their left."

Banesaw frowned. Torchwick knew that frown. It was the 'I had a plan and you just wrecked it'. _Risky Trade_ was perfect for ruining plans. He gracefully accepted Banesaw's _Conspiracy_ and got to work.

"Speaking of conspiracies, I've heard you were planning to betray Cinder, Roman," Deery commented as she took Taurus's _Giant Nevermore Feathers_.

Torchwick's cards spilled on the table for all the world to see while he gaped at the woman. "W-What… Are you _crazy_?!" he almost shouted. "Betraying that bitch?! She can freaking _control the Grimm_!"

Only then, he realized he'd been fooled. He quickly picked up his cards again, and glared at Deery, who just smiled at him.

Endearing indeed…

Still fuming, he continued. "I play _Defence Wall_. Then I play _Improve Defence_ , and using Vacuo's special ability I get to avoid paying its cost in terms of resources. This allows me to activate _Investigation_ , since I can only play it on a player who has somehow not paid the cost of a card. And thus I investigate myself. I have to reveal two cards from my hand. If any other player has a card with the same name, we both lose all our resources and I skip my turn." He revealed _Vacuo's Sappers_ and _Sandstorm_. No one had them, fortunately. "However, if no one has any, I get to play an additional turn after this one – and I'm not done with this turn yet." He then played a couple more of cards to reduce the _Defence Wall_ 's building time from three to one turn – his next.

"Though, you know Deery, betraying Cinder might actually be a good idea."

Torchwick froze and then his eyes snapped from Deery's own blue ones to Banesaw, who was looking thoughtful. "Are you crazy?!"

"As much as I hate her, she's giving us a way to fight the humans," Taurus countered his lieutenant's statement, not caring if one of said humans was in the room. "We need her."

"Except… we don't. Not really. All she does is giving us orders. Sure, we hadn't thought of doing this, but she's not contributing in any way – she's using us. She paid us with money she got from Torchwick – which means it's money we can still get from Torchwick directly instead of him paying Cinder and Cinder paying us. Aside from being a death threat on our heads at all times, Cinder isn't doing anything."

Torchwick slowly considered his words while he subtly moved some cards in his sleeve and some cards to his hand. "You have a point when you say she's useless to us, Banesaw… but I think you're underestimating how dangerous she is, even if she's stupid. I mean, as dumb as her, no one, but her power is nothing to scoff at."

"Power means nothing if she doesn't expect it though," Deery spoke up slowly, as if considering every word.

"Unless we kill her in one single hit, I highly doubt it's just going to work magically," Torchwick snorted as he began to play his additional turn, boosting his _Defence Wall_ to an invincible Rank 13 defence, which meant anyone who tried to attack him was utterly screwed. "Cinder is a bitch, but she throws around her power often – I know what she can do. Creating flames is nothing to her. However, that seems to be only part of what she can do – she's got freaking control over all the elements, even if fire is her favourite, _on top_ of matter manipulation. I've heard Black complain how broken it was, and for once I agree with the kid." He played the _Vacuo's Sappers_ , destroying three of Taurus's storehouses, leaving him with next to no resources. Heh, he shouldn't have attacked like an idiot in his last turn.

"What do you mean, matter manipulation?" The bull Faunus didn't even seem to notice he'd basically lost already. "I thought her Semblance was fire-based."

"It's all of that, apparently. She can move, disrupt, rebuild or heat up powders – which means she can turn objects into powder and then manipulate it. The little thief called it Dust Manipulation but I call bullshit. Must be some illegal, new Dust infusion she's experimenting with. It would explain her stupidity." Torchwick then proceeded to absolutely wreck both Mistral, Banesaw, and Vale, Taurus. Luckily the game didn't have Mengerie or the three Faunus would've brawled right then and there to use it. After destroying any hope they had of winning, he continued to speak. "That's why I never did anything. If I try to flee, Grimm. If I try to kill her off, I'd need some really really strong power to put her down for good. I know I'm not willing to risk Neo against her."

Deery smiled as she played Atlas's most stupidly broken trap card, _Schnee Solicitors_. Since she was the lowest-ranking member of their little group, she'd gotten the nation no one liked even if it was by far the strongest. "Roman, I control the rest of your turn."

Torchwick threw his hands in the air, but before he could sneakily change his hand, Deery had leaned over and snatched his cards. "I hate you."

"Same," Taurus and Banesaw muttered in unison. Roman had to admit it, Deery was both lucky _and_ skilled. A combination he hated.

Pity she had such pretty eyes.

While the Faunus woman proceeded to force him to sacrifice his _Defence Wall_ to destroy up to thirteen troops, all either his own or belonging to the other two males playing, Taurus spoke up. "So what you are saying is… the only reasoning you're still working for Cinder is because you haven't found anyone strong enough to off her for sure?"

"You hit the nail on the head – hard enough to give it a concussion."

Deery snickered.

Okay, maybe she wasn't _completely_ faking it.

Torchwick sighed. "What surprises me is that _you_ are working with her. As Banesaw said, it's not like she's doing anything."

"Hein, or Bernard."

Torchwick ignored the large man. "Besides, what do you guys gain from attacking Vale? The reputation of being violent against people who don't even have a say in how Faunus are treated – heck, Vale is actually pretty mild in discrimination. Why not Atlas?"

"For two reasons," Taurus said through gritted teeth. "One, is that for now, Atlas is beyond our reach in terms of power. And two, because Cinder said Atlas would fall later."

"Destroying the world is gonna make it hell for Faunus too. And besides, the fact you can't reach Atlas is total bullshit." Everyone looked at the thief in slight interest. "Oh, come on, have you already forgotten who you're talking with? Or who freed all those _Faunus_ prisoners from the Atlasian mines? Got in, got 'em, got out. Easy as lying."

The three Faunus all looked at him with even more interest, so focused on him they didn't even notice he was changing his hand. Normally, professionals cheaters would be ashamed of cheating at such a simple game, but for Roman it was second nature – kept his skills sharp. "That earned you a lot of respect from the Faunus," admitted Taurus begrudgingly, refusing to use the word 'love' even though it was true, Roman Torchwick was a hero for a lot of people by then. "I was surprised to hear you managed it. Atlas's security is very strict – we tried that before."

"There's a difference in how a thief and a terrorist approach the same situation. You wanted to free those slaves – I _stole_ those slaves." Torchwick delighted himself in the confused looks his statement had caused. "What I mean is, you go in like an army – fighting for freedom and all of that. I didn't. I stayed under their radar for as long as possible, and even when they noticed me, they were too slow – we were already gone. I don't care about showing Atlas my strength or trying to damage it as much as possible. Also, I'm nowhere near as hated as the White Fang is, in Atlas."

He didn't mention he actually had connections there too.

"What are you saying, Torchwick?"

"That thanks to _Schnee Solicitors_ I get to draw… and play one single card by the end of my turn of my own free will, as long as that card does not target any card she made me use in my turn. Which means I can use _Uncovered Corruption_ on _Schnee Solicitors_ , which means that Deery, you have to discard your entire hand and you're limited to a max of one draw in your next turn no matter what cards you use." Torchwick grinned. He loved to get lucky. Also, Deery's pout was as satisfying as it was adorable. "What I'm saying is that an outright war isn't the smartest thing to do when you literally have the entire world against you. Gaining allies is important, especially since a lot of people hate Atlas and the Schnee Dust Company…"

"Are you saying we should stop this project and attack the SDC?" asked Banesaw, somewhat interested. Not that he didn't like combat, but he hated the Schnees, so attacking them sounded far better.

Taurus too seemed interested even if he tried to cover it up. "We don't have the necessary resources. First we have to be feared. If we try and fall against Atlas, the White Fang will become a laughingstock."

"I never said you need to be _physically_ aggressive." Torchwick folded his cards as his turn ended. "Atlas itself is all about arrogance, pride, money and disregard of anyone without the third. It's the SDC the one who the most needs Faunus subjugated in order to keep them working in the mines. Which means that, if the SDC were to fall… its political enemies might've as well grant Faunus more rights. Maybe not equality right off the bat, but closer to that."

"That would mean we have to destroy one of the world's most powerful companies, and definitely the most influential," Deery pointed out.

However, as smart as she was, she didn't have a lot of experience with the bullshit of politics like he did. "Listen. The SDC has a lot of enemies. Owning eight to ninety percent of the Dust trade means all the other Dust companies would give both arms and legs to get it out of the way. With the 'high quality', 'refined' Dust of the Schnee Dust Company, who wants to buy 'possibly hazardous' Dust from local sellers? The SDC planned their rise well. They made people feel like they are the only ones who can guarantee Dust – but this means that everyone who is now shadowed by the SDC wants revenge…"

"And they would be willing to actually supply us with Dust, money and maybe even hideouts in order to get the SDC out of the way," Taurus quickly caught on. "You still haven't mentioned how the SDC is going to fall though."

"Wait and I'll get to that." Torchwick placed his cards down. The game seemed over anyway. "In Atlas, the SDC isn't very much liked either. Sure, everyone acts friendly with those with money and power, but eventually they are all pots of boiling envy. They will help as long as they can do so indirectly and without ending up in trouble – more than half the assassins in the entire world are hired by Atlasians for a reason, after all. Which means you'll have supporters in and out of Atlas. As for how you're gonna make it fall…"

Torchwick took a bunch of cards from the pile in the middle of the board and make a small house of cards. "Now, tell me, which is the most delicate and orderly way to destroy this?" Without waiting for an answer, he carefully removed the cards from top to bottom, making sure nothing collapsed. Then he rebuilt the house. "Simple, taking it apart little by little, from the leaves to the roots. However… there is another way…"

Torchwick pulled a single bottom card, and the house collapsed. "It's chaotic, and messy, and dangerous since you never know what happens after you pull the card. But it's faster. If you attack at the roots, the tree will fall. And at the roots of the Dust trade, there are the Dust mines."

"We can't destroy mines," Taurus pointed out, frustrated.

"No, but we can remove all their miners," Deery countered, quickly catching on. Smart girl. "Faunus or humans, it doesn't matter, we can save them all if it means the SDC will remain without miners."

"That, and we'll have to make sure it can't get more," Banesaw added thoughtfully. "We can't just stop the SDC from hiring people, which means they will have to have a reason not to accept the job – like being fine without. Faunus accept because they are desperate, but if we change that, we change everything."

"Mantle is basically a totally different jurisdiction," nodded Torchwick. "After you remove the slaves, some other big hotshot in Atlas will accept giving you some company so to hire people in Mantle, to make sure the SDC can't stabilize itself. You create a company, obviously not official tied to the terrorist organization, so people won't need to go to the SDC for money. Of course you have to keep trying to free anyone who ends up in the mines – the SDC might very well try to kidnap people."

"The conclusion is that either the SDC fails, or it's forced to pay more – more than you do. This will either grant Faunus a lot more commodities since people rarely discriminate against those with money, or it will make the SDC fall from the top dog to a normal, rich Dust company. And you will be the heroes of Faunuskind." Torchwick grinned. It was clear as day all three of them were interested. "It's going to be hard, and it's going to take a few years, but believe me – you're far from the only ones who hate the SDC. Use that hatred against them."

"And where do _you_ fit in all of this?" asked Taurus, snorting. "Or do you just want to be a hero of the Faunus too?"

Roman's smile faded.

 _"When I grow up, I'll be the best hero in the world!"_

 _"I know it's going to be hard Tai, but I want to try. Being a hero is just about everything I have left."_

 _"Is this what being a hero means?! Risking your life, the life of the ones you care for, to try and prevent a tragedy only for the government to pull the carpet from under you feet and blame everything on you?!"_

 _"I wish we could go too, Tai… but the government wants to send us North, near the ocean. I… I'm sorry, I know it's not fair, but to be a hero you have to obey the rules."_

 _"These laws aren't fair – why can't we break them if we're doing good?"_

 _"Stay with me, Neo, I got you! Stay awake! We're almost there! Stay awake, dammit!"_

 _"Where were you Tai?! We waited for you but you never came! Neo almost died!"_

 _"I'm sorry, but I can't go on pretending to be a hero. This lifestyle… this mere career isn't for me. I'm quitting."_

 _"Tsk, I save dozens of people from the Grimm, and I'm just yet another nameless Hunter. I save some random couple from being robbed, and I'm a vigilante… Stupid newspapers."_

 _"Vigilantism is against the law, huh? Well, tell your boss that hiring teenager prostitutes is too. Goodbye, gentlemen!"_

 _"Come on, Neo, it's not like they can hate us even more than they already do…"_

 _"Who cares about what they say? They don't care about us, we don't care about them!"_

 _"If society has rejected me, dear Tai, why should I not reject society?"_

"Roman…"

 _"It's not right to steal? It's not right to kill? Qrow, you should know the world better than me and yet you say that? The world isn't fair – what are you gonna do about that?"_

 _"Yeah, yeah, you got me – it's not like I haven't got my butt kicked before. The important thing is to never give up trying."_

 _"I'm no hero, Neo, stop smirking. I just didn't feel like being an ass… the world's been cruel enough to that boy already, I'm not gonna be the same as the world."_

"Roman!"

The criminal was startled out of his trip down the memory lane by Banesaw's deep voice. He shook his head and cleared his throat. "Sorry. I just… got an idea for my next theft."

It was a pathetic lie, but they let it slide. They were allies but not friends – secrets would always be secrets.

"What do I get? Aside from money, fame and the bitch off my ass, nothing. But it's a nothing worth aiming for if I get the aforementioned member privileges and employer perks." Torchwick grinned toothily. "So, any idea on how we might kill Cinder? It goes without saying that that would be the very first step…"

The game now abandoned, Taurus stood up. "I might have a way. I'll get back at you if it works out," he said, for once sounding respectful towards the man, which was a first. "Álainn, with me. Hein, pack this up and then catch up with us."

The two of them walked away while Banesaw put away the game. After a few seconds, the large man turned to Torchwick, seeing him apparently lost in thoughts. "Something's on your mind?"

"Just admiring Mother Nature's art," Torchwick replied easily, his eyes never leaving Deery's retreating lower end. "She's the best artist of them all, after all."


	26. D-Day

_**And I'm back! Currently, I just turned 18. I have a 90k translation, several commissions, babysitting and on top of that, finding a job, to worry about, so this chapter was pushed back a lot.**_

 _ **By the way, guys, I've been meaning to address one thing. Cauchemar, aka Jaune's new weapon. Not many have commented on this, but I'm guessing you did wonder why I gave him that weapon, or a new weapon at all. Well, the reason is because his basic ones are too good.**_

 _ **Hear me out. A lot of fanfictions portray Jaune as not good at fighting, at least at first (some keep this up for longer). However, sword and shield is a fighting style so basic that in the Middle Ages, the Italian fencing masters (those who invented fencing) didn't even bother adding it as a fighting style in their records and manuals. Fiore de Liberi, perhaps the first one to record his teachings (to the Lord of Ferrara, if I'm not wrong), does not add it in his manual.**_

 _ **This is because sword and shield is just using your natural survival instincts. An arming sword cannot be used in complicated ways when wielding a shield, so that too requires little to no training. Of course, an experienced fighter still manages to make it look complex, but it actually isn't.**_

 _ **So, Jaune could not possibly be as awful at it as he is in canon. So, if I wanted to make him look worse than his peers, I had to give him some kind of stupidly complex weapon he'd have no idea how to use, and perhaps have him accidentally switch it into something while he's fighting. I noticed you guys (as in, readers) enjoy this trope, so…**_

 _ **I hope this clears up why I felt the need to give him a new weapon and go through the pain of inventing something like that to the point of drawing it myself.**_

 _ **Also, for Deery's and Banesaw's names. Cailín Álainn, in Irish means 'pretty girl'. So original, I know, but it's better than 'deery'. Bernard Hein is a reference to Bernhard Heine, the supposed inventor of the chainsaw.**_

 _ **Hope you enjoy. The title, D-Day, stands for both Dance Day and Doomsday/Death Day. NOT for Ninjas of Love XLVII: Dick Day. Absolutely NOT for that! This story is kid-friendly! Mostly... Blake's really pushing it though.**_

Adam Taurus was a prideful man, and he knew it.

He'd never admit it, but personally he was aware of it, even though he'd skin anyone saying it to his face.

Or behind his back.

Or anywhere at all. But he was getting sidetracked.

He was a prideful man, and he also kinda knew he could err on the reckless side.

Which made his current apprehension even more surprising and unwelcome at the same time.

He tried to adjust his tie, only achieving it to loosen slightly, much to his rising anger. The damn thing just couldn't seem to be able to decide whether it wanted to hang loose like a coiled snake, or strangle him like that very same animal.

Beside him, Neo just covered her mouth to hide her already silent giggles before she reached over and fixed the blasted thing for him. He swallowed his spite for humans for just a fraction of a second and gave her a nod of thanks. He may have hated all humans indiscriminately, but even his hatred for humans paled in comparison to his newfound hatred for ties.

He refrained from adjusting it again as he glanced himself over.

He didn't look very good, he decided. He was wearing black slacks and brown dress shoes, both of which he hated with a passion. They hampered his movements and would not be very good in a fight. Thankfully those clothes were just the top layer and he had a black bodysuit underneath. He also wore a white shirt and black suit jacket over it, paired with the demonic red tie. All of which seemed to be trying to do their best to anger him even more than he already was.

It was a perfect copy of Beacon's uniform, and thus what male students were supposed to wear during the Beacon Dance. Or, well, supposed was a strong word. It was just that they didn't see a point in buying or renting new clothes just for one night, when they could just use their normal uniform, with some minor changes. Girls had it much worse, in his opinion. They were still allowed to use their uniform, but most of them didn't want the plain-looking clothes to be even remotely _close_ to them during the Dance.

Taurus growled softly under his breath. Wild and Blush were, as usual, on his hip, but he knew he would need to hide them very soon. As soon as they were ready, actually.

He gave himself a once over in the mirror on the wall and grimaced, bringing a hand to his face. He had large sunglasses on to hide his horrid left eye, and Neo had applied enough make-up on his scar to not only cover it, but make him wonder if he could even raise his eyebrow any longer. But he knew the scar was there, and he gritted his teeth at the memories and hatred it brought back, together with the desire to watch all humans burn and-

A nudge interrupted him before he could go on a mental personal rant against humanity.

Turning around, he appraised his companion for this mission. Neo had gone for something fairly simple for her standards, knowing she'd have to take it off anyway to avoid being recognized on the way back. Knowing her, and Huntresses in general, Taurus wondered how the actual fuck they could fight in those stupid, uncomfortable, tight, movement-restricting dresses of theirs.

He would never know the answer.

The petite assassin had decided to wear a green camisole so thin it was a miracle it even existed. Over it, she kept some kind of short, open jacket -seriously, that thing didn't even have buttons, why make a jacket without buttons or zippers?!- of some kind of blueish green or something, whose sleeves arrived up to her wrists. Probably to hide the ends of her hidden skin-coloured bodysuit's sleeves. How could she not die of embarrassment while wearing something that made her look a hundred percent naked, again it was something he would never, nor would ever want to, know.

She was also wearing a dark green skirt, and a very short one at that too, with stockings that were a few shades lighter, and dancing shoes.

Taurus knew he was repeating himself by then, but damn how the hell could she fight in those. Or even just breathe, actually – he was pretty sure all dresses were one or two sizes smaller than the one they indicated, some kind of sick joke from the designers or something. Why would anyone ever wear something that suffocated them all the time? Especially at parties, where they were supposed to have fun?

Shaking his head, he just filed it away as yet another thing he'd have to make humans pay for. After all, Faunus didn't do elegant or high-class or anything even remotely like that. Everyone just wore whatever they wanted.

Another nudge told him he'd gotten lost in thought. _Again_.

Neo grinned up at him and held up her phone. _"Ready to kick some fire bitch ass?"_

Taurus snorted, but a ghost of a smirk still crept up to his face, pulling at his lips. "Yes."

/-/

The Beacon Dance was a big thing. Definitely. Ruby was sure that if just about anyone _else_ had been asked about it, they would've said it was very important and… yes perhaps even kinda fun. But not her. She was very different from the others.

For once, she was very socially awkward.

For twice, she didn't even know how to actually dance. Or walk in stilts at all. Also, she was pretty sure one wasn't supposed to use 'for twice', even if 'for once' was okay.

Yes, she sometimes invented words too.

Fortunately, she had her equally-awkward date with her!

Jaune too wasn't exactly someone who did well in social environments. Oh, not that he wasn't a social person, it was more that he didn't really know how to approach people without making a fool out of himself. So she was shy-awkward, and he was dolt-awkward.

"So… any ideas on what to do?" she asked vaguely as the two of them just stood by the punch bowl, each with a full glass in their right hands.

"Well, we could go on the dancefloor and-"

She cut him off before he could even finish. "Jaaaune! I told you I'm not good at dancing! And my feet hurt! At least here nobody can see I took off my shoes…"

"Well, then why don't you just dance without your shoes on?" Jaune offered. "I can help you. Besides, it's not like we have to do a highly-synchronized team dance within a moment's notice, no?"

For some very strange reason, the image of Jaune, Ren, Nora and Pyrrha dancing in sync came to her mind. Even more weird, Jaune was wearing a white dress of all things, which he rocked in her opinion since he didn't even look embarrassed by it, but which did not fit him at all. Size included.

She shook her head to get rid of the odd picture before looking back at him, realizing he must've taken her head shake as a refusal… and being perfectly okay with that. "Sorry Jaune, I'm really not one for dancing."

Jaune sighed and shrugged. "I know. You just told me seven times already."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I'm not sorry every time I tell you I'm not gonna take Weapon Maintenance class with you," Jaune replied. "Besides, I can just ask Pyrrha, or Weiss, or Yang. They all look like they wouldn't mind dancing a bit."

"No!" Ruby exclaimed, a little too loudly. Blushing, she cleared her throat at his questioning glance. "I-I mean, Yang is with S-Sky and W-Weiss looks like she'd want to be left alone, so…"

"Well, I guess I can ask Pyrrha, right?"

"B-But wouldn't it b-be rude to leave your d-date alone?" Ruby tried again, only slightly desperate.

Fortunately, Jaune nodded. "Yeah, you're right." He sighed. "Pity. I was looking forward to dancing."

 _'Not the involuntary guilt-tripping, please!'_ Ruby screamed in her mind.

Elsewhere, in the hall…

Weiss was torn between sad and upset. On one hand, she'd just been turned down. Rejected. Thrown away like yesterday's trash- okay that was going too far. But still, Neptune had quite simply said he was embarrassed. _Embarrassed_ of all things to say. By what, she didn't know. He hadn't really been able to explain a lot in the three seconds she'd still been in earshot.

On the other hand, she had been _turned down_. _Rejected_. _Thrown away like yesterday's trash_. She was worth so much more than that, and yet Neptune had dared to turn her down. It wasn't even because she was a Schnee – with Pyrrha on her team, Weiss had learned, slowly but surely, to look past people's fame and titles, including her own. But as a Huntress and as a person, Weiss believed she was well above Neptune's standards, if the girls she'd seen him chatting with were any indication.

And yet he had rejected her. And it wasn't that he already had a date or simply didn't want to go, because he was right there, joking around with Sun and Blake, making some stupid 'crying' imitations that really irked her, as if he was mocking her.

He was there alone, and that meant he had seen a problem in _her_ , not in the dance itself. He didn't even have the decency of finding another date, for Dust's sake! He decided that going to the dance alone would've been better than going with her!

Elsewhere still…

Yang hadn't taken in consideration one thing when planning this dance.

She had grabbed just about anything she could need and sneaked it in when she thought no one was looking. True, the fog machines disappeared mysteriously two hours before the start of the dance, but the new selection of music by Tree Williams was much better than the deadbeat music they had before she changed it up a little. And there she thought Coco of Team CFVY had good taste.

She had even gone through the nuisance of making sure all her friends had a date. Ren and Nora were a given, even though they apparently went as 'friends'. No one bought it anyway, no one but them that is. Blake and Sun had eventually gone together, though if she had to be honest they went as each other's date, but there was more of a 'friendzoned' aura around Sun than there was around Nora. Ruby and Jaune were with each other, just standing awkwardly to the side, which was just about how she thought their date would go, and Pyrrha was… well, maybe she and Weiss could comfort each other?

What she did _not_ plan for, though, was for Sky to be such an awful dancer.

Or rather, for him to not even be trying to dance. He just made sure not to step on her feet, and otherwise remained as stiff as a board while they danced. Okay, slow dancing wasn't her type of music either, but at least he could've tried to put some effort in it. Where did all his 'bad boy' attitude went?

…

Alright, Sky was never really much of a bad boy, more like the eighth wheel everyone always forgot about. He was about as much of a bad boy as she was of the studious type. In fact, he was a some kind of wallflower in terms of being cool. He had his moments, sure, but then again even Jaune had his cool moments… probably.

After all it was statistically impossible for someone to _never_ have a single cool moment.

Still, she should've asked Sky if he could dance, instead of waiting obliviously until the moment the music began, only to see him stiffen up and start imitating a robot, minus the comedic gestures.

 _'This is the last time I forego planning my own date just to ensure the others have fun,'_ she grumbled to herself, not caring if Sky saw her displeasure.

Meanwhile, in Sky's head…

 _'Down, boy, down!'_ he thought desperately, trying not to let his discomfort -and quite frankly, abject fear- show as he awkwardly tried to match Yang's steps while moving as little as possible. _'Dammit Yang, why did you have to dress like that?! You do know I can see right down your- don't think about it! And you, down! Down, and stay down!'_

And finally, somewhere else entirely…

"It appears all the dancers have partners," Emerald said as she and Mercury watched the crowd from the ballroom's gallery.

 _"How long do I have?"_ Cinder's voice asked through their earpieces.

"You should probably be here by midnight," Mercury replied, guessing the people wouldn't start going to bed until then.

 _"I'll keep my eyes on the clock."_

And with that, the line cut. Mercury and Emerald removed their earpieces to avoid suspicions and pocketed them before slowly moving down to the ballroom's floor.

/-/

Cinder smiled as she cut the call with her servants. After so many failures on Roman's part, it was nice and refreshing to finally be able to do something by herself, so that she could show that clown and his sadistic whore of a sidekick how a real professional got things done. True she was a superior being, something they would never come even close to be able to compare themselves to, but if she could effortlessly infiltrate Beacon and hack into the CCT Tower, then they could do their job and steal some Dust from some poorly-guarded shipment.

What she asked them couldn't be _that_ far out of their pitiful reaches, right?

Apparently it was, given how Torchwick had failed, against a bunch of kids of all things. Which made it twice as bad, because not only he and the White Fang she provided him were easily defeated and sent running with their tails between their legs, pun not intended, but he had actually been so stupid those kids had _known_ he would be there. He was so obvious a bunch of little kids playing heroes had discovered him and kicked his butt. How he managed to remain Vale's greatest criminal for so long, she'd never know.

Perhaps everyone else was just so much pathetic he'd gotten the title by default.

That honestly sounded like the most probable option. She couldn't see him actually climbing the ladder to the top with the level of skill he displayed. Nor with his abysmal level of intelligence – she'd seen Beowolves smarter than him. At least they knew to cower when they were in her presence.

She jumped off the roof of the building she was on and landed on the courtyard, currently clad in just about the most suspicious-looking sexy spy outfit she could find. It wasn't her fault anyway, she had to be stealthy and for stealth she was willing to make exceptions.

That's what she told herself as she barrelled through the surveillance, taking out the guards with extreme prejudice and knocking the others out. She didn't bothering checking if they were alive – but she did drag those outside behind some bushes to prevent random passer-byes from spotting them and getting suspicious.

Not like some random little kid would just up and leave the dance and, after having spotted her running across the rooftops, decided to investigate armed with some kind of oversized gardener's tool. That would just plain be impossible and _so_ unlucky.

In Vale, in some random bar, Qrow Branwen sneezed and sighed when said sneeze caused him to drop his glass, still full of whiskey. "Stupid Semblance…"

Cinder Fall smirked as she entered the tower, unaware that someone, _not_ some random little kid with an oversized farming tool, was watching her _very_ carefully.

Cinder moved swiftly as she entered the tower. There were no secondary entrances, so she simply disabled the cameras using Watts's EMP device. Not that she actually needed any help from the man, but Salem had figured Ozpin shouldn't get to see her magnificent appearance before the Fall of Beacon, where she would burn it forever in his memory… before burning him to ashes as well.

"Hey, you! You're not allowed to be in here at this hour!"

The sudden shout brought her attention to the three guards by the door, and she smiled as she continued to walk towards them, ignoring their hostile expressions.

"Halt! You are under-"

She didn't let him finish as she dashed forth, using her Semblance to create both her weapons and sinking them blade first into the man's chest. Auraless soldiers. So pathetic. Common thugs could have their Auras unlocked, yet the almighty _Atlas military_ didn't unlock the Aura of their infantry soldiers. They thought so highly of themselves yet they were nothing more than morons playing heroes against her.

The irony of her thoughts was lost to her.

With a scoff, she ignored the other two's shocked gasps as she flicked both her swords outwards, striking both of their necks at the same time. Their gasps turned into bloody gurgles as the two fell to the ground with their throats slitted.

With another smile, Cinder calmly opened the door. There was nothing in the world that could stop her, a few more soldiers would do nothing but make her laugh.

The next room was large, and she to admit, at least they tripled the security. Shouts of alarm rose from the ten or so Atlasian soldiers, but they wouldn't stand a chance.

Summoning her bow by fusing together her sword using using her Dust Manipulation to weld them together, she created three arrows and shot the closest two to death before moving ever so slightly out of the way of a couple of shots.

Truly pathetic. She readied her bow again before a soldier charged at her with an energy sword. Without missing a second, she jumped over him, leaving an explosive charge behind as the ground glowed red. While still in the air, she fired her arrows before redirecting them to hit three different soldiers in the necks, killing them. Five down, four more to go.

The explosion left behind tore through the soldier's legs as he fell down to the ground, unconscious.

Correction, six down, three to go.

Two of them charged at her with swords, and she actually had to deflect a hit as she landed, unable to dodge both attacks properly. To punish the soldier, whose gender she didn't know, she cut his or her arm off before sinking her left sword in the other one's chest, effectively disabling both of them.

Leaving the one down an arm for later, she formed an arrow and promptly shot the last one, impaling his head against the wall. Then she turned around, formed a flame in her hand and incinerated the vermin that dared force her to cross blades with him.

She smiled as she headed towards the elevator. Before she could arrive, however, she had to jump out of the way of a large blade of crimson energy that impacted the wall and utterly destroyed the elevator's controls as well as damaging the tower's system. All lights went out as the short-circuit fried the illumination system. Cinder had no idea how long it would take for them to come back, since it wasn't just a blackout where the backup generator would kick in after a few minutes.

For all she knew, she could be left to fight in the dark. Not too much of a problem since she was the closest thing Remnant had to a Goddess of Fire, but still bothersome.

Especially because she had an idea who sent that energy blade at her.

She turned around, glaring at the quickly fading red accents in the darkness, and growled.

"Taurus…"

/-/

Phase one, cut the lights, had gone off without a hitch.

Adam Taurus could see perfectly well the shapes of the corpses left on the floor, and of course the black-clad figure of their adversary. Not too far from him, Neo gave him a thumbs-up. To be completely honest, the human woman looked creepy wearing the night vision googles she had.

Those had been hard to get. They couldn't just use thermal vision as Cinder's flames would've thrown all of that out of the window, so they just bought googles that increased the luminosity of the low-light images while keeping bright lights under a certain level of tolerance. Torchwick had actually been the one who managed to snag one of them, since they were military equipment and thus not available to civilians.

"Taurus…"

Cinder's voice brought him both worry, anger and anticipation. He knew they couldn't go back after this – he'd just declared war against Cinder. If he backed down now, Cinder would kill him before giving the leadership of the White Fang to someone wrapped around her little finger.

If Neo failed, she died alongside Torchwick. She had two lives riding on her success.

He had a _lot_ more to lose. Not only his life, but the lives of everyone in the White Fang. Cinder would lead them in a suicide charge for her own gain, discarding them as soon as she didn't need them any longer and dumping the entire blame on them while she remained hiding, so that the Atlas military would declare war on the Faunus once again.

He couldn't let that happen. As much as he hated humans, now he had another way to fight them. One he got from a human, true, but Roman Torchwick was no ordinary human. For once, he was hated just as much as Taurus himself, and second he actually helped the Faunus. True, he still was a racist prick at times, and a prick at all times, but deep down he actually did offer help.

Now that he had another way, he had to fight to move the White Fang onto the best path to victory. And that path included killing Cinder.

He gripped Wilt tighter before he charged forwards. The plan was simple – he would distract Cinder long enough for Neo to strike her with the poisoned blade of her parasol, and then they would simply wait for the poison to take effect and kill the bitch.

In theory, it was much easier than in practice, but he was fairly confident they could win. Cinder could and would use her flames to fight back the darkness and coat herself in fire, but as much of a fighter as she was, she could still be defeated.

As soon as he made a full circle around the woman, he transformed Blush into its rifle form and shot three times at her.

Cinder simply parried all three bullets with some kind of heat shields before sending an immense wave of fire in his general direction.

He jumped on the wall and, using the vertical surface as a springboard, leapt over the flames, shooting six more times in mid-air. With his night vision, he could see Neo stealthily moving closer to Cinder.

He pondered whether he should taunt her, but quickly decided against it – Cinder would just fill the entire room in flames. He just had to continue running around and keep her annoying. He had to act as if he thought evasive fighting could grant him victory.

Or even better, make her think he was actually fighting.

He dashed forth and swung his sword towards the woman's midsection, but the strike was parried as her bow instantly turned into two swords.

 _'Damn, Torchwick was right. Her Semblance is annoying,'_ he growled mentally. He'd have to take in consideration the fact she could turn anything she wanted into… well, _anything_ she wanted. It apparently didn't work unless she was touching it or focusing on it or… well, he knew she couldn't just disintegrate him, that much was sure, or she would've probably done so already.

He reversed his strike and went for a reverse stab, before bringing up his rifle and shooting her in the face when she parried with both swords. She managed to dodge it, but a scowl formed on her face as she pushed him away and wreathed herself in flames.

Overly dramatic bitch.

"Do you really want to do this, Taurus? To throw away your life and abandon your fellow White Fang to their fates?" Cinder mocked him, just as she always did, always behaving as if everyone was nothing but a stain on her shoes and she was some kind of divine superior being they had to serve and worship.

It disgusted him, and reminded him of the Schnees, thinking themselves so perfect. Cinder was the embodiment of the humans he loathed. He'd accepted working for her only because she was giving him no choice. He had turned her away the first time – the second, she'd come bathed in the blood of the White Fang soldiers who tried to stop her.

She took everything she wanted by force.

So she would have everything taken away from her by force.

"You know, if you stop, I'll consider sparing your life." That was a fucking lie, and she knew he knew it. "After all, there is no need to waste resources, no matter how insignificant they may be."

He'd give her insignificant.

He shot her a couple of times before charging away, ignoring the blistering heat as he launched a flurry of attacks against the woman, who just laughed.

"You can't defeat me, Taurus, and you know it."

He shut her out.

She sent out a pulse of white-hot flames, forcing him back, before sending several spheres of concentrated flames at him, who absorbed them into his sword. Considering Cinder's careless use of power, he knew he already had enough charge for a Moonslice, but he wanted to wait a little before continuing.

He jumped out of the way when he saw the ground glowing underneath him, reminding him that Cinder could very well fill the room with fire without moving a single finger, and roast him where he stood.

"Mmh, that was close. I can almost smell the cooked beef from over here…"

Taurus gritted his teeth at the racist remark and launched a savage attack on the woman, ignoring the scorching hot flames that licked at his skin. She just laughed again as she continued to parry and deflect his attacks before fighting back.

With a single swing of her sword, Taurus was sent back several metres before a giant fireball impacted him and sent him crashing against a wall. Cinder lowered her flames and laughed. "Oh my, you _almost_ made me break a sweat. Though that might be due to the fire. It heats up the air, doesn't it?"

 _Bang_.

All combatants turned in shock as General Ironwood strode into the room, revolver in one hand and thermal vision googles on his eyes. Behind him there were Glynda Goodwitch and Professor Ozpin, both looking ready for a fight.

"What is going on here?!" Goodwitch yelled, looking beyond furious. Cinder's flames allowed her to be seen perfectly well, while the darkness shrouded Taurus and Neo, the latter of which was almost in position.

Cinder gritted her teeth as she sent Taurus a scorching glare that told him he would quite simply die if Cinder were to escape.

"Halt!" Ironwood shouted, levelling his hand cannon to Cinder and firing off a shot. Cinder simply dodged and darted away, extinguishing her flames as she moved to escape from the room.

And walked right into Neo's waiting arms.

The petite assassin struck immediately, slashing at her and pushing her back, giving Taurus enough time to sheathe Wilt and draw it again, calling upon the inner well of immense power that had been building up inside him and unleashing his Semblance in the world.

 _Moonslice_.

All the hurt he suffered, sent back a hundredfold.

And Cinder Fall was its target.

The energy coalesced into a single slash that looked like a red fracture in the very matter of reality. It seemed to absorb all light around it, darkening the room, but Taurus's hair and sword shone more than ever as his Semblance launched the ultimate attack against the unsuspecting Cinder.

Moonslice struck the False Maiden like the blade of an angel of vengeance, and the resulting red explosion of light blinded everyone in the room.

When it died down, Taurus was shocked to see Cinder _still standing_.

Her Aura was gone – flickering out of existence before his eyes. But in her hands, a flame lit up, already white hot and growing. A look of pure, absolute hatred was fixed on her face, and for the first time in many years, Adam Taurus felt terrified.

Cinder's murderous eyes, as beaten up as she was, told him he would die by her hand, be it the last thing she did.

Fortunately, someone else moved before him, or her, or the three new arrivals.

Neopolitan darted forwards, uncaring if the newcomers saw her, and stabbed her blade through Cinder's neck. Taurus watched in morbid fascination as the thin blade sliced cleanly through the delicate flesh and came out of the other side, Cinder's crimson vital blood coating the steel.

It was as beautiful as it was macabre.

"Stop! Both of you, stop now!" Ironwood's voice brought him back to reality just in time to raise Wilt to intercept the General's bullet.

Neo was immediately by his side, somehow.

And then the two of them vanished.

/-/

Roman Torchwick was quite enjoying himself at the moment. Between the good food, the drinks, and the company, it was a nice party. Now, if only little Deery could learn how to relax and stop stomping his feet every time he grabbed a new glass, it would be perfect.

He could hold his alcohol well. And besides, those couldn't even be classified as alcohol anyway. They were rich people's shit drinks. Why someone with loads of money would want to buy stuff that costed as much as a house and tasted like cat piss, he would never know.

"What is the plan?" Deery, or Cailín Álainn, asked as the two of them walked around. She was dressed in a simple light blue dress that highlighted the curve of her breast and went down to her heels. In his opinion, she looked very pretty. The simple-yet-expensive dress made her look like some rich trophy wife of his, which he had immediately teased her about, finding great pleasure in watching her invent a new shade of red.

Torchwick politely nodded to an Atlasian guy who happened to look at him for more than a second. He was wearing a white suit over a light orange shirt, that paired well with his hair. He'd foregone the make-up he usually wore, as well as his beloved hat, for once. His hands were bare, his usual black gloves nowhere in sight, as was his scarf. His white pants matched his suit's colour, and his dress shoes completed the look. He missed the familiar feel of Melodic Cudgel in his hand, but he knew he had to leave it behind. "The plan? Enjoy ourselves, and let people in Atlas know that there's a new player in the game."

"That's it?" Cailín asked, surprised and a tad irritated.

"For now, yes. Atlasian people hate surprises and most of all, hate not being prepared. So if we want to get in their good graces, we must let them have time to figure us out before they tentatively approach us to get a good feel. Only then, we can start choosing our contacts." Torchwick smiled at a businessman as the two of them walked by. "After that, we'll focus on strengthening our connections until they can bring us some actual profit. While we do this, of course, we'd have to start sabotaging the SDC to let people know the top dog is going down. We can support and be supported then. Once our connections are solid, we start our new company in Mantle… and go full throttle on the SDC. After that, it's just a matter of time before the SDC falls and stabilizes."

"And you're gonna make us wait that long?" Deery frowned.

Torchwick laughed. "Not me, not you, not dear Adam or Bernard. The SDC will try to _crush_ you in any way possible, and criminal connections -while valued in the Atlasian business world- can easily be used against you. The SDC is extremely powerful – any company it sees as a potential rival is destroyed with either legal means… or by simple assassination." He grabbed two more glasses of champagne and handed her one before gently clinking his own against hers. "We… well, _you_ will have someone else, someone trusted but without criminal background, as the CEO of the company. I am far too well-known to stay undercover forever, same for Taurus. Not that he'd be able to manage a company."

"So, for now, it's just… waiting?" Deery asked, incredulous.

"It's letting them know we're here, and letting them draw their own conclusions." Torchwick perked up when soft music began to play. "And you know, try to act as normal as possible. Wouldn't want them to start getting suspicious, right?"

Cailín shook her head. "Well, that's pretty obvious."

Roman gave her his best charming I-just-tricked-you smile and held out a hand. "Then may I have this dance?"

Her embarrassed blush was more than worth the pain from her poor feet. As it turned out, being a terrorist didn't leave a lot for the arts, and she was a horrible slow dancer.

To him, it didn't matter.

It was just to act normal, after all.

 ** _Hope you enjoyed the very important chapter!_**

 ** _So, Cinder's dead. Where did the Maiden's Powers go? How will Salem react? Will Adam and Neo get together? What about Roman and Deery? So many questions, and no answers._**

 ** _And poor Jaune, he was really looking forward to dancing a little._**

 ** _Until next time,_**

 ** _Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


End file.
